Righting Wrongs
by ShannonSto
Summary: Letting my imagination continue with the story, specifically Mitch and Jamie.
1. Chapter 1

**Righting Wrongs**

 **Summary** : Because I can't wait until next summer to find out what's next (please CBS, renew this show), I decided to let my imagination run wild. I haven't written a fanfic for a long time, but the Mitch/Jamie dynamic moved me to jump back in to the ff world. This chapter is very short, more of an intro. The next will be from Jamie's POV.

 **Spoilers** : None.

 **Disclaimer** : Don't own a thing.

Snow. Yes, finally snow. The light flakes wafted down on Mitch as he stood looking over the railing at the land in the distance. He noted that there was no snow gathering on the ground yet; the temperatures had up to now been unseasonably warm. The northeastern Canadian coastline was something he would normally have thought beautiful, but today it seemed far too endless. The pod of orcas they'd encountered had created sufficient difficulty that they were now on day five of an eighteen hour journey.

His mood was a mixed bag of impatience, melancholy, anxiety, and although he didn't want to admit it, hope. For so long, he had suppressed emotion, and was doing a fine job of it until she came along. Jamie. With her unending curiosity and dogged determination, she had captured his mind and heart, forcing him to reevaluate his goals and motivations in life. She forced him to confront feelings he had long denied. He was in love with her; of that he was certain. Just three months ago he'd been on the verge of telling her but he had stopped short seeing her reaction to his admission that she had saved him. She had looked as if she'd wanted to flee the room. In fact, when the alarm sounded indicating that the electroporator was finished, she'd done just that. What did it mean? Had he crossed a line? She grasped his hand while cornered by the leopards. Don't be an idiot, he told himself. It's human nature to band together in extreme situations. Yet, then, on the plane, she had completely caught him off guard with that kiss. He was so confused by it that it took him a moment to respond with his own tentative kisses. Did it mean anything? Was it because she was so elated to have the cure and the downfall of Reiden Global in the palm of her hand? Maybe it was just the alcohol talking. Or she was just flirting in playful celebration. After all, they weren't children; they'd both done far more than kissing outside the context of love. Somehow, he suspected that wasn't the case here.

And in the blink of an eye, she was gone. Soul crushing grief and defeat enveloped him. Regret for moments lost, opportunities not taken. Seething rage that Reiden was getting away with everything and no one would ever know. They were still here and Jamie was not. Completely vindicated, yet unable to savor it. And just when he was on the brink, drinking himself into oblivion nightly, the phone rang.

He looked at it. No Caller ID, it informed him. He wasn't even sure why he answered it. Determined to take out his frustration on the caller, he amped up the smug, "Mitch Morgan, totally awesome scientist."

"Mitch….Mitch, can you hear me?" The voice was like a lightning bolt running through him, jarring him to full attention. "It's me. It's Jamie."

Once he'd allowed himself to accept that it was really Jamie and not some kind of cruel prank, he'd been overcome with emotion, unable to really say much to her before the battery had run low and she'd been forced to end the call. But it was ok. There wasn't much that needed to said at that moment anyway. There would be a time for that later. Right now, it was enough to just feel. To absorb. To take deep breaths and thank whomever was in charge up there. The deep emotion he heard in her voice as well revealed to him that their connection was undeniable. This was it. He'd gotten his miracle. Once again, life had offered him a second chance, and this time he wasn't going to blow it.

He was still choked up when he'd called Chloe to see if the satellite phone could be tracked. The following afternoon, he stepped up into the Hummer on the highest of highs, as a kid going to Disney World. After Abe's quick evasive maneuvering avoided a confrontation with what looked to be the entire animal kingdom, they'd made it to Delaware without further incidents. The delays had come on the water, and Mitch's mood had quickly dampened.

He'd seen the map location that the sat phone revealed, but knew little about it or what Jamie could be dealing with on daily basis. Was she really ok? Was she safe? Who was she with? Why had it taken three months for her to reach out? How on Earth could she still have the leopard cub?

If all went according the most recently revised plan, midday tomorrow they would be there, and she would be in his arms. It would all feel more real when he could reach out and touch her.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

_**Righting Wrongs, part II**_

Five days had passed. Five days! Jamie stretched her mind to imagine what could be taking so long, for a fleeting moment entertaining some disturbing possibilities. She chuckled to herself at her own paranoia. After all, considering what they had already overcome, what could be frightening? Bats? Check. Rats? Check. Bears? Check. Dirty FBI agent? Check. Creepy Charles Mansonish murderer? Check. Leopards? Check. Marauding gangs of outlaws? Check...and check. Plane crash? Check. See, there's nothing the team can't handle. Ha, not even a clowder of cats.

Anik had shown her what she could only assume was the current date on the calendar. She had been horrified to learn she had spent three months in and out of consciousness before finally awakening fully a week ago. It seemed like something out of an episode of Criminal Minds to wake like that with no idea where she was, who she was with or how much time had passed with no way to communicate with this stranger. It soon became clear that he had helped her, and since then he'd shown no inclination whatsoever to harm her, she had begun to relax around him.

She struggled with her inability to remember the plane crash. On one hand, it was probably good that she blocked the terror and pain she almost certainly had experienced. On the other hand, it left so many unanswered questions. How did she come to be in this place? For that matter, where was this place? How had she become separated from the others? What had become of them? While she loved Abe and Jackson like brothers, she found herself more fixated on the enigmatic scientist. She desperately hoped he was all right.

From the moment they met at the zoo, she was intrigued by him. She smiled now to remember Delavane's deadpan " _Mitch Morgan, as advertised_ " after Mitch insulted Jackson's father. On the surface, the man was indeed exactly what he advertised. He was one of those people that just didn't seem to give a damn what others thought of him. He knew he was the smartest guy in the room and figured everyone else did, too. He definitely did not suffer fools well.

It was curious that most people with those traits tend to lack self-awareness, yet Mitch seemed keenly tuned into the fact that he was perceived as moody, condescending and difficult. " _Nobody took me camping. Would you want to be stuck in a tent with moody teenage Mitch?"_ He didn't seem at all bothered by it. He just wasn't interested in pretending to be anyone other than who he was. Well, that wasn't completely true, she mused. He was given to pretending he didn't feel anything, while in reality he felt things very deeply. He hid more swirling emotion behind those dark brown eyes than any man she'd ever known.

Thus was the paradox of Dr. Morgan: He was handsome and witty, yet moody and blunt. Condescending and acerbic, yet compassionate and forgiving. She'd been too decimated by the senators rejection at the time to truly appreciate it, but later it became yet another example of why she respected and admired Mitch. " _Senator, I did my grad school thesis on the inverse proportionality of taxidermy wall mounts to their owner's penis size. My condolences to your wife."_

The truth of the matter was that she liked him instantly. And as she got to know him better, peeling back the layers of his complex persona, she liked him all the more. Perhaps his track record was a bit shoddy, but he had come through every time she needed him. " _I'm not worried about that,_ " Mitch had supported her. " _You know why? Because I have faith in you._ "

His confession in the hospital lab had completely thrown her for a loop. It felt like six steps had been skipped, but it made perfect sense at the same time given the amount of time they'd spent together and how well they'd come to understand one another. Still, she'd be lying if she said it didn't freak her out a bit. She had just come off a year long meaningless relationship with a coworker, and was more than a little leery of another one. She had to admit, though, that a relationship with Mitch Morgan would be anything but meaningless. _Give it up, Jamie_ , she told herself. _You're in love. That's why it's scary._

He'd been so adorable, loitering at the rear galley of the plane lining up the little bottles of booze. She felt drawn to him. He smiled when he looked up and saw her approaching. That smile! So infectious. She wanted to fling her arms around him and kiss him. The offer of vodka was perfect—liquid courage. A little small talk, and before the vodka could even take effect her lips had found his. It was brief, and when their lips parted she waited for his reaction. The pause was unnerving. Had her advance been unwelcome after all? Suddenly, he leaned in and kissed her in return. It felt so good, so right. His fingers caressed her cheek and she was his. Her last memory was of Mitch saying something about migratory patterns, then a violent jolt and she fell into a dreamlike state of semiconsciousness.

It never occurred to her to dial anyone else's number. She sat on the stoop, listening to the rings. What if he didn't answer? Did it mean he was dead? Or just not available? Should she risk the battery by leaving a message, or take a chance on calling again later? The sound of his voice derailed her train of thought. There would be no need for a Plan B.

"Mitch Morgan, totally awesome scientist." _Smug. You don't see it too often, but often enough that they gave it a name._ Her heart leapt! Mitch was alive and, well, Mitch.

She found it difficult to hold back the tears, stifling a sniffle. "Mitch….Mitch, can you hear me? It's me. It's Jamie."

"No, it isn't. Jamie's dead," he responded in an argumentative tone. "Who—who is this? You—you don't even sound like her."

Her heart broke for him. She reassured him in the only way she knew would convince him it was her. "Ok, you gotta stop being an ass for a second and listen. It _is_ me, I _am_ alive, and I'm really glad you are, too."

"It really is you." He was clearly laughing and crying at the same time. She wished she could reach through the telephone and touch him.

He said little, as if he were still trying to process what must have been one hell of a shock. But no matter. She knew he was ok, and the call could be tracked and they would come for her. Soon she would see him with her own eyes.

And now she sat scouring the horizon for any sign of her friends. "You and me, pal," she looked over to the leopard pacing in his enclosure. "We're going to D.C. You're going to be the kitty who saves the world."

Something was concerning her about the big cat. Her brow furrowed as she approached he fence and touched him through the chain links. Something was going on there that shouldn't be, but she just couldn't put her finger on precisely what. The sense of unease had begun creeping in a few days before, and it grew stronger all the time. With a sigh, she took a step back. Hopefully the guys would be able to figure it out.

She decided at last to stay positive; positive that all was well with Mitch and the team. Positive that the cure was in her grasp, and the animal kingdom would be restored to normalcy. Positive that Reiden Global would finally be made to pay for their atrocities. Positive that she would be cleared in death of Agent Schaffer. Positive that Mitch's daughter would be well. Positive that her career could be salvaged. Damn, that was a long list. Staying positive was going to require quite the leap of faith.

Sigh. The sun was beginning to set. Even if they were nearby, they wouldn't be able to come tonight. The wolves—and God knows what else—lurking in the darkness made night travel far too dangerous. "Please let tomorrow be the day," she murmured aloud, though no one was around to hear."Please."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Righting Wrongs, part III_**

 **Note:** Apologies in advance if I screwed up the French. It's been many, many years since high school :-)

"This is the place?" Mitch stared dubiously at the eight foot high chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire. "Or is it Leavenworth?"

The house sat a good three hundred yards or so from the rear fence line. The yard lying between was peaceful and green, in complete contradiction to the world outside. Nothing stirred; no sign of life, human or otherwise, presented itself.

"We should blow the horn on the boat to attract the attention of someone inside," Abe suggested.

Two blasts did the trick nicely. Within moments, a man appeared from the back door, waving his arms as he jogged toward them.

"Anyone know what he's saying?" Jackson asked.

Mitch turned his eyes downward rubbing his forehead. "I'm not even sure what language that is." _Are you kidding me right now? What fresh hell is this? Why do I see this guy instead of Jamie?!_

"He's a native Inuit," Chloe informed them. "They speak the Inuit tongue, but many in this area speak some French as well." She turned her attention to the stranger, who was now reaching the edge of the fence..

Chloe and The Man conversed in what seemed to be a unique hybrid of French and Inuit, but somehow they were able to understand one another. The exchange lasted a few minutes, Mitch supposed, though it felt like hours. Unable to make heads or tails of it, he resigned himself to helping Jackson and Abe stand watch for wildlife. At last, Chloe turned to her friends.

"His name is Anik. He was fishing when he found Jamie in the ocean with some debris. She was unconscious, badly injured. He found the leopard, too. He did not know what to with them so he brought them here and took care of them."

"Why didn't he just notify the local authorities?" Jackson asked.

Mitch shared Jackson's suspicion. _Who the hell is this nut? Injured in what way? Unconscious all this time? Nope, no need for a hospital_ _ **there**_ _._ He pursed his lips. _Don't piss him off, Mitch. He still has Jamie inside that fence, and you're outside_. "There were search teams all over this area."

"I am not clear on that." Chloe shook her head. "He did let her use the telephone when he figured out that's what she wanted."

"What a peach," Mitch muttered.

Finally, the man gestured for them to follow him along the fence line until they reached the padlocked gate. Though he was usually a confident man, Mitch felt his anxiety and nervousness grow with each step closer to the house.

"Posevic," Anik stopped and pointed to an area at the side of the home. "Posevic! Posevic!"

Four incredulous gasps sounded at once as they came to view an adult male leopard standing in a small pen. It began pacing as they approached. Chloe and Anik turned their conversation to the cat.

"That cannot be our leopard," Abe murmured. "It is so big!"

"No way he grows that much in three months," Mitch agreed. "What's he eating, Reiden Wonder-Gro?"

Jackson was the lone voice of dissent. He knelt beside the fence. "The accelerated growth's not unheard of. We saw it with the rats."

"Does he have the defiant pupil?" Chloe wondered.

Mitch had had enough. "Look, as much as I'm enjoying the meet and greet with the Jeremiah Johnson of the Great White North, this whole 'badly injured' scenario is making me nervous."

Chloe addressed Anik, "s'il vous plait, ou est mon amie?"

Anik pointed and waved toward the house, stating something Mitch could not understand.

"He said you can go in," Chloe reported.

Mitch didn't need to be told twice. Leaving the others discussing the leopard, he made his way to the front door. Here goes nothing. He turned the knob and slowly opened the door. He nearly broke down when he found her peacefully sleeping in a chair. It _was_ her, she _was_ alive and she looked terrific.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Jamie awoke to sunlight streaming through the window. It had snowed off and on all night, but by morning the warmer temperatures had melted any accumulation. Now the sky was clear. A perfect day, if…

She stopped herself from continuing that train of thought. After all, she had no evidence that today would be any different than any other day. Down the stairs to the kitchen to ferret out some breakfast, just like yesterday and the day before and the day before that one. Then into the pair of oversized boots that Anik had loaned her for a walk out to see the leopard. She mulled over names again as she watched him, but nothing seemed to fit. _What do you call a leopard that will save mankind from extinction? Spot? You're losing it, Campbell._

Morning visit completed, it was time to go back into the house and have absolutely nothing to do. Well, nothing but think, and that was perhaps worse than nothing at all. She knew now that that they were all ok, or at least they were six days ago. Then why weren't they there? What else was going on in the world? What had she missed during her absence? She had been evicted. Did she even have anywhere to go? And what of her things? If she'd been believed dead all this time, surely her things were gone. She grimaced at the thought that she now owned nothing but the clothes on her back, and they had certainly seen better days. Was she still considered a fugitive? _Well, at least in prison you'll get a pair of shoes, three hots and a cot._ She longed for a laptop or an iPad, despite the knowledge that such devices would be useless anyway without wi-fi or a cellular signal.

She busied herself by washing up the morning dishes, not that there were many, then going through the the motions of tidying up the clean house. She had tried in the past to help her companion with whatever it was he did outside, but he seemed hesitant to allow it, and the charades game wasn't going well. Accepting that there was nothing more to be done, she curled up in the living room chair and soon sleep found her. Lately her dreams had been mostly memories and this one was no exception.

 _Jamie flung open the door as if she'd seen a ghost. Concern was etched into_

 _her face and her rushed stride. Mitch glanced up from his terminal, still smarting from the close call with the apparently no longer hibernating bear._

 _"What are you doing here? I told you I was fine."_

 _"Well, I came here to make sure you are as fine as you say you are."_

" _Well, you missed quite a party."_

 _"Yeah, I can see that." Her fingertips went to the claw mark on his temple. "Hey, that's a nice little scratch."_

 _"I know. It's hot, right?" he teased as they shared a brief, sweet smile._

"Jamie." The voice was soft and the hand on her shoulder gentle, yet enough to tear her from her reverie. "Jamie."

Her eyelids fluttered open and his face came into focus.

"Mitch?" Was he really here? Or was she not quite awake yet? "Oh my God…"

The hand that had been resting on her shoulder moved to cup her face. She felt the tears welling and saw that his eyes were moist as well. Moving forward, she buried her face in his neck as they met in warm embrace. No words needed to be said; the tears said it all in that moment.

"Are you all right?" He asked when they finally parted.

"Yeah, uh, but you're not," she traced the faint yellow of the bruise on his left cheek. "Still winning friends and influencing people, I see."

"Well," he joked, "when you have something you're good at, you have to stick with it."

She grasped his outstretched hand as he helped to her feet, and they headed out to greet the others.

 _To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Righting Wrongs, Part IV_**

 **Author's Note:** First of all, thanks for all your kind words! I've been away from the fanfic world for a long time, so it's a definite confidence booster. Second, thank you CBS for officially renewing Zoo. Yay! We will get a second season, and we get to find out how the writers and the talented cast resolve all of this. Third, I made a deliberate choice to depart from canon here. Normally I don't like to do that, but in my opinion what we see on screen doesn't jive with the 17,000 worldwide fatality estimate that Amelia Sage gives us. It seems to me it would be far, far higher with entire villages wiped out, so I've chosen 70,000,000 to encompass roughly 1% of the world's population.

"Jamie!" Chloe hugged her. "You look wonderful!"

 _For someone who's been dead for three months,_ Jamie thought wryly. She knew that she was pale and frail-appearing with obvious weight loss. Still, she appreciated the gesture of kindness and friendship. She hugged Abraham and Jackson as well. "Thanks, you too. You guys are a sight for sore eyes."

"I can't believe this," Jackson admitted. "Teams combed this area for days. They never found a thing." He shook his head. "The only body not recovered, and now we know why."

"It is truly a miracle." Abe said softly.

"This guy wouldn't leave," Jackson continued with a nod to Mitch. "Even after the search was called off. We had to work to convince him it was over."

Mitch felt a sudden urge to change the direction of the conversation. He and Jamie had not yet had a chance to talk, and the fact that he cared enough about her to have been consumed with wanting to recover her body so she could be buried next to her mother, well, that may too much too soon. He turned toward the leopard. "What does *Anik* have to say about our spotted friend here?"

"Hey," Jamie spoke up, noting Mitch's visible discomfort with the previous topic, "something's been bugging me about him, and I think I finally figured out what it is."

She went to the fence and reached through, stroking the cat's fur. "He's tame. Why?"

"Well, he was hand-raised," Jackson attempted to explain.

"So were the lions in the zoo," Jamie insisted. "So…why is he tame? He has the mutation, right? That's why he could be used for the cure. So why isn't he trying to rip my arm off? We didn't cure _him_."

Mitch moved beside her, concern furrowing his brow. "That's a damn good question."

Abe sighed deeply. "We need a good answer."

"Well, I guess we'll have to figure that out when we get him back to Washington," Jackson replied. "In the meantime, tame is good. It'll make it a hell of a lot easier to get him to the crate on the boat and back home safely."

Abe and Jackson began preparations for moving the leopard, while Jamie turned to Chloe. "Chloe, please tell him how grateful I am for, um, everything. Seriously, there's no way I can thank him enough. He's been nothing but kind and generous." She found herself feeling a twinge of guilt for wanting so much to leave. After she was gone, he would once again have no companion at all.

She recalled pointing to a photograph hanging on his wall that depicted two women, one middle aged and one young. He had pointed back at it then placed his hand over his heart. Jamie had come to assume they were his wife and daughter and wondered what had happened to them.

"I'm gonna go change so I can give him back all of his stuff." With that, she disappeared back into the house.

Mitch instantly felt the separation as he watched her go. Nothing but kind and generous, huh? Ok, so maybe the man wasn't the root of all evil after all. He decided to go assist with the transfer of the leopard as Chloe and Anik continued talking.

Shortly, Jamie reappeared, dressed in the same clothing she'd worn on the ill-fated flight. It had been washed, but the bloodstains were still quite noticeable. Mitch winced to see the gash in the right pant leg.

"You're gonna need shoes," Jackson declared on spying her bare feet.

"Ok, just swing by a Payless," she joked. " I must have some cash here…" She turned the pockets inside out. "…somewhere."

"No shoes." Chloe sighed.

"This is it. Everything I own in the world." Jamie tried to take a light tone to avoid bringing down the mood, but it wasn't really working. "And I have no job. And no home. And I'm a fugitive from justice. But you know what? I'm alive, and I'm with my friends. I'll be all right."

"Actually, here's a bright spot," Mitch said dryly. "You're not a fugitive anymore."

"I'm not?"

"Long story. I'll tell you later."

"What took you guys so long, anyway? It's been, like, six days." She was only half-joking.

Jackson shrugged. "Killer whales."

"Literally," Mitch dead panned.

Chloe motioned them toward their hired yacht. "Shall we go?"

Once they had set sail, the group gathered in the main cabin to catch up with one another. Jamie found herself surprised to learn that they had split up with the job left unfinished. She shuddered to imagine the depth of pain and grief Mitch and Abe must have felt to compel them to cut contact with the others.

"So…the thing with the animals. How bad is it?" She finally dared to ask.

"Worse than whatever it is you're imagining." Mitch retrieved a beer from the refrigerator.

"Are there more of those?" Jamie asked hopefully. Mitch retrieved a second one and handed it to her.

"It's bad, " Abe confirmed. "People don't dare to leave their homes. It is too dangerous. There are wild animals roaming the city streets killing at will, and the domestic ones are not much better. Millions have lost their lives worldwide."

"They tried to find another leopard. But it turned out to be contaminated by Reiden Global products. We couldn't use it." Chloe added. "It felt like all hope was lost until you called."

Jackson spoke up. "Yeah, Reiden was hawking this brilliant plan to kill off all the animals and repopulate the Earth with genetically modified ones."

"Aldous Huxley would be proud," Mitch snarked in utter disbelief.

"Tell me that at least people can now see Reiden for what they really are," Jamie implored, causing the room to fall awkwardly silent. Correctly reading their faces, she jumped out of her seat. "Oh my God! You have _got_ to be kidding me!"

"Reiden Global," Mitch began flatly, "has found a way to come out of all of this smelling like a rose." He decided it was like pulling off a band-aid; the best approach was the simple truth. The bile dripped from his words. "You probably didn't know this, but they're the heroes who discovered the cure and magnanimously provided a second mother cell for its implementation. If, of course, the new leopard had worked out. Because they're just forward-thinking like that."

 _And all of you just let them get away with it?!_ Jamie wanted to scream, but realized she still didn't have all of the information. "Perfect."

"It's getting dark." Jackson stood up. "And I've got first watch. See you at midnight, Abe?"

"Yes. Perhaps I should try to get a nap." Abe followed his friend from the cabin.

Chloe smiled at Mitch and Jamie, "If you'll excuse me, I have some work to do as well. I'll give you time to catch up."

And with that, they were finally alone.

 **Coming up:** Part V looks to be much longer, as it covers our heroes' discussion on their situation and *ahem* other stuff, as well as the formulation of the plan to bring down Reiden Global.


	5. Chapter 5

The silence was awkward. They had so much to say to one another, but neither seemed to know where to start.

"How's your daughter?"

"Symptom free."

"I'm glad," Jamie smiled. They raised the bottles in a quick toast. "You were right, you know. I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes. I would have done whatever I had to do."

She leaned forward on the sofa, elbows on her thighs.

"So…how've _you_ been?"

"Not good," he answered honestly. "We were on top of the world." His face fell as though the memory was too painful tolerate. "In the blink of an eye, it was all just…gone." His voice became strained, scarcely audible. "Including you."

"My new favorite hobby, well, occupation really, is bar stool warmer extraordinaire." He took a long swig. "And picking bar fights. I've become quite good at both, as you can imagine."

Jamie shook her head and smiled warmly, taking his hands in hers. "You? Never would've guessed." God, she had missed him.

Sitting opposite her, he unconsciously mirrored her posture. "That's where I was when you called." He hesitated a moment, then continued. "I suppose it could be said that you saved me yet again. Your turn. How have you been?"

"It was weird. I was awake off and on, but never _totally_ awake. I have just fleeting images. I vaguely remember being in the water, and a chunk of…um, airplane in my leg," her hand reflexively came to rest on the gash in her pant leg. "Then when I finally did fully awaken, I was so disoriented. I didn't know where I was, or even when, and I had no idea what happened to you and Jackson and Abe. I didn't know if you guys were alive or dead. And I was completely at the mercy of this stranger I couldn't communicate with. Soooo vulnerable." She finished off the last drops of her beer. "Thank God he turned out to be a really decent guy."

"Small miracles," Mitch agreed.

"I had to draw a picture of a phone. But bless his heart, he had one. I was so scared dialing…if you didn't answer…"

"I almost didn't," he confessed, "Wasn't really in the mood for 'no caller ID'. I was planning to torment whoever it was. So, hey, you win the prize."

At her puzzled expression, he continued with a wink, "First person to ever leave me nearly speechless. For a brief shining moment, you desnarked the great Mitch Morgan."

"I noticed that. But it was fine. I heard everything I needed to hear in that moment," she said as she moved to stand between his knees, her eyes not leaving his. "Maybe we kinda saved each other."

She leaned in and their lips met. The kisses, tentative at first, quickly deepened as they became more bold in their explorations. Jamie pulled away ever so slightly. "Where, um…where is your cabin?"

"Well, being that it's also Abe's cabin, I'd suggest yours."

"I have a cabin?"

Mitch, uninterested in discussing cabins at that exact moment, was growing exasperated. "There are only three. Besides the crew ones, of course."

"Wait, what? Jackson's not rooming with Abe?"

"He'd rather bunk with Chloe," Mitch answered cheekily. "I don't know, maybe she doesn't snore as much. Is, uh, is this conversation really what you want to be doing right now?"

Jamie grinned. "Right." She took his hand and followed him down one deck to the cabins.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They lay quietly in the bed, her head on his chest. Mitch pondered the new direction his life had taken; finally he had hope for the future. Yet he still hadn't told her what he needed to tell her. Why was the L word so hard to say? He had spent many years suppressing his emotions, but the feisty redhead had a way of getting his guard lowered. He knew it was just a matter of time.

"Six months ago tonight I was in Brentwood on what someone derisively termed a 'cat stakeout'," he mused. "Feels like a lifetime ago."

Jamie laughed aloud. "It does. Anyway it wasn't derisive until it became a cat pursuit. You were so goofy."

"I'm goofy? Who's the one who called kitty cops?" Mitch responded playfully.

"I didn't say goofy was bad. It was actually pretty endearing." Jamie chuckled again, softly caressing his chest. "It's funny, as it turns out, 'I found the cats' _was_ a pickup line."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Surprisingly well," she admitted.

"I'm smooth like that."

For the first time in a long time, Mitch slept well. So well, in fact, that if Jamie hadn't been lying between him and the phone, he would have pulverized it when the alarm sounded.

She startled awake and grabbed the offensive device. "3:55 am. God, Mitch, why do you have an alarm set for 3:55 am?!"

"It's my watch," he mumbled as he silenced it. "I have to relieve Abe in five minutes."

He gave her a quick peck as he sat up on the edge of the bed. "Go back to sleep."

She murmured something unintelligible and faded back to dreamland.

Mitch quickly dressed, went about a couple of brief pit stops, then made his way up on deck. He zipped his heavy coat and pulled the hood over his hair.

"Good morning, Mitch," Abe greeted. "It's been a thankfully slow night. Absolutely nothing to see."

"Good. Let's hope it stays that way." Mitch sat in the empty chair next to his friend. The dim deck lights made did nothing to illuminate the ocean surrounding them, but the rotating side floodlights were available should they be needed.

"How is Jamie, really?"

"She's good."

Abe nodded. "She's stronger than she thinks. Did you tell her about the gag orders?"

"Not yet."

"It's not going to get any easier with time, my friend." Abe stood and stretched. "I'm going to go try to get a few more hours of sleep. Good luck." He patted Mitch on the shoulder before walking away.

"Thanks," Mitch replied. "Good night, Abe."

Five minutes later, Mitch made a horrifying realization.

"Damn it! I forgot the coffee!" It sat waiting in the galley, he supposed. He had started it brewing then walked away without it.

Disgusted with himself, he sat staring into the black ocean. He would have to find another way to stay awake. _Should have gone to sleep earlier, pal. No, no I'll take that trade off any day._ He gave a small laugh and immediately felt the chill in his face. The air was bitterly cold during the night, despite the clear sky and lack of snow flurries. The water was tranquil, giving away no signs of the countless perils lurking beneath the surface. What threat would present itself today? Giant squid? Great whites? Or maybe cute little homicidal dolphins?

"And to think I used to like animals," he muttered to himself.

"You will again," the voice startled him. Jamie set two cups of steaming coffee down on the table nestled between the deck chairs. "As soon as we get the cure home and distributed."

She sat down. "Black, two sugars, right?"

"Perfect. Thank you."

"I thought you could use some company."

Lacking a suitable coat, she wrapped a blanket around herself. If Mitch minded her borrowing his socks, he said nothing. In fact, he seemed pleased to see her join him.

"I could," he said.

"Ok, you know I'm dying to know what it is that no one wants to tell me," she blurted suddenly. "Why am I no longer a fugitive?"

"Ah, that…" He sighed.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Parts of it you'll like," he conceded. "Other parts, not so much."

He took a sip of coffee, absorbing the heat it gave.

"When we got back, we were all extensively debriefed by the NSA. They questioned us for days, comparing the stories. Eventually, they cut a deal with Reiden totally indemnifying them of any wrongdoing if they produced another chunk of the mother cell."

"Wow, I am _so_ not liking where this is heading."

"The deal also included full immunity from prosecution for us. But in order to get it, we had to sign non-disclosure agreements." He paused to give her a moment to absorb it all.

"A complete gag. Everything we went through? None of it ever happened. So there we are," he continued bitterly, "fully aware that Reiden caused all of this destruction, 70 million murders and counting, including yours, and we can't say a damn thing. They turned the whole damn world upside down. Meanwhile, their PR people are making them out to be superheroes."

He paused again, clearly troubled. "I am not ok with that."

"Oh my God, they just slither out of every net! How do they keep getting away with everything?!" Jamie's frustration surged.

He put his hand on her forearm. "But here's the thing: you were granted full immunity as well, as a sort of goodwill gesture."

Confused, Jamie replied, "but I never signed anything."

"Precisely. You have immunity and no gag. Pretty good spot for a journalist to be, I would think."

Hope flickered across her features, then fizzled out. "God, I'm still in the same spot I was in six months ago, Mitch. I have absolutely no proof. No smoking gun, or even the bloody knife. I'd still sound like the same nobody that got fired from the Telegraph. They treated me like I was crazy. My editor, even my supposed boyfriend at the time, nobody had my back. I couldn't get anyone to listen."

Mitch gave her a half-smile. "You got me to listen."

"Yeah, well, you've got, like, 50 I.Q. points over him."

He feigned indignation. She shrugged, palms up. "60?"

He chuckled, and she reached over and touched his cheek. "And you always have my back. But I still have no proof."

"What about the files you hacked from Reiden Paris? Gotta be something in there."

"I'm sure there's lots in there. I never had a chance to go through it all," she lamented. "But the flash drive was in my backpack, along with Leo Butler's documents and Evan Lee Hartley's bible. It's all gone."

"Jamie," he started as he stood, "can you keep an eye out for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure, wh….?"

"I'll be right back."

As promised, he returned in short order, carrying his bag. Settling into his chair, he reached into the bag and retrieved three items. Jamie couldn't believe her eyes. Before her were the exact three things she thought were gone forever, carefully wrapped in plastic just as she'd left them: the flash drive, the bible and a manilla folder.

"How—how did you get these?"

"We couldn't find _you_ , but Abe found your backpack," Mitch explained. "Most things were destroyed by the water damage, but you had these in plastic. And, just in case another disaster strikes, there are multiple copies of each stashed back in D.C. You have no idea how close I came to saying 'to hell with it, lock me up, I'm gonna sing like a canary.' Even talked to a couple of reporters, scouting, but none were good enough."

"I didn't want anything to happen to them, like fingerprints, or spills. A freakin' plane crash never crossed my mind," she explained. "I can't believe you saved this stuff! Oh my God, do you know what this means?"

Mitch nodded as he took another sip of coffee. "It means you can stop in and tell those idiots at the Telegraph to screw themselves on your way to pick up your Pulitzer."

"With my super-hot date on my arm, of course."

"Of course."


	6. Chapter 6

Sunrise over the ocean is something everyone should see at least once in their lives. Jamie would have preferred to see it on a luxury cruise vacation, but had to admit that regardless of circumstance, it was beautiful. Nature could be pretty amazing when it wasn't trying to kill them. The awesome vision, in this case, was the signal for Jamie and Mitch that watch was over; they were free to go inside.

"Oh my God, it smells heavenly." She took in the aroma as they entered the galley.

One of the perks of Jackson's years on safari was that he was an amazing cook. He could serve up a delicious meal with nearly any ingredients, under nearly any circumstance. Today was no exception.

"Morning!" He smiled, scooping the first helping of eggs onto a plate. Chloe stood next to him, leaning back against the counter with her mug of coffee.

"Good morning."

Jamie sat at the table while Mitch refilled his coffee cup. Jackson placed four breakfast plates on the table, covering a fifth with foil for Abe when he awakened.

"Thank you. Oh, I have missed your cooking," Jamie said. Indeed the hot breakfast was just what the doctor ordered after hours in the cold. "So, eighteen hours, right? We should be there by six pm or so?"

"I don't know," Chloe answered between bites, "the Captain is concerned about the weather. He may have to go around a storm. Could add a day or two. What is your plan?"

"My plan is to make sure Reiden's CEO gets everything that's coming to him." The thrill of the chase, coupled with the realization that justice for her mother was within her grasp, had Jamie flying high. And all she and the team had gotten for their efforts with the animals so far was a kick in the teeth. Well, that was going to change also. "And we will all get the credit we deserve for everything we did, everything we've been through. All of the sacrifices that were made. Even Ray and Leo deserve…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-I'm not gonna tell you not to do that, God knows I want those bastards to pay, too, but you gotta be very, very careful," Jackson interrupted. "You can't go public until after you've blown them out of the water, when its too late for them to do anything about it."

"What? Why?"

"You have the power, the proof and the motivation to expose Reiden, not to mention the government's coverup. They can't force you to sign a non-disclosure. And even if they could they have no leverage over you to enforce it. So you know what? When Reiden finds out you're alive, they're coming at you _hardcore_. And if they can't get to you directly, they'll come at the people you love. We know from experience that they don't give a rat's ass about the collateral damage."

The words hit Mitch like a punch in the gut. How had he not even considered this? If there was even the remotest possibility that Reiden would use Clementine to get to him and Jamie, then this idea was a non-starter. Damn, they knew his face and his name and all about his daughter. But how could he stop them? If Jamie didn't cooperate, they would use any means necessary to silence her. If they could not find her, they would harm others to flush her out of hiding. He shuddered to think of the torture Chloe's sister had endured. And if Jamie did cooperate, even if she handed over every bit of evidence she possessed, they still would not take the risk. They would kill her. No matter what she did, Jamie, and everyone around her, was in extreme peril once Reiden Global became aware of her continued existence.

"He's right," Mitch spoke up. "Jamie Campbell has to stay dead, at least for the foreseeable future. I, I can't believe I didn't consider this." He shook his head sadly. "Reiden will do whatever it takes to silence you. Once they're outed, there's nothing they can do without making things even worse for themselves, but until then, you my friend are a phantom."

Jamie fought to maintain her composure. She knew they were speaking the truth, but it was a bitter pill to swallow. She had no job, no apartment, no money and now…no identity.

"Seriously?" Jamie groused. "I just want my life back."

Jackson spoke up again. "Well, you can't have it. None of us can," he told her bluntly. "You lost your job. So did I. You think Abe and I can go back to being safari guides? I loved that life. You think UCLA kept Mitch's position after he vanished without notice for months? We've all lost contact with nearly everyone we knew before."

He smiled kindly, softening his tone, "All the five of us have is each other. We can't have our old lives back. But what we can do is move forward with our new lives. And who knows? The new ones may be better than the old ones."

"No one knows about Jamie except Abraham and the people in this room. I can pull some strings and get her into the country under the radar," Chloe offered.

"Thanks, Chloe. Thanks to all of you. You guys are awesome," Jamie said sincerely.

"You're going to need a new name. Different from any you've used before. As soon as we get back we will get started on the documents. Will you need a place to stay? Or will you stay…?" Chloe wasn't sure whether or not to finish the question. The answer seemed obvious to her, but she didn't want to make any assumptions.

Jamie and Mitch exchanged glances. "I think I have it covered."

"Good. Also, until you can do some shopping, I'm sure I have some things that will fit you if you'd like."

"Sweet. I get to wear French fashion," Jamie smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mitch leaned against the deck rail, his back to the sea. Abraham and Jackson stood opposite him. Between them was a small crate containing an increasingly unhappy leopard.

"He's getting restless," Abraham said. "We're asking a lot expecting him to stay caged for such a long journey."

While Mitch abhorred the cruelty of the confinement, there were safety issues in play. "Well, we can't let him out for a run. What kind of sedatives do we have?"

"Maybe we can just let him sleep the rest of the trip," Jackson nodded.

"We still don't know why he isn't aggressive," Abe said. "And he doesn't have the defiant pupil. Is it possible he ingested some of the cure?"

"There wasn't any left," Mitch replied, "just drops. And…and it was in a separate container in my bag. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, but what on earth possessed the old man to keep him? He's surrounded by rampaging wildlife and he keeps a leopard alive on his property? Seems like one hell of a risk."

Jackson shrugged. "Maybe he assumed it was important because it was in a military crate? But then, what was he planning to do with it?"

"What did he tell Chloe?" Abe asked.

"I'll have to ask her," Jackson looked concerned. "Do you think you can still use his stem cells?"

"Let's hope so," Mitch said softly.

The other men read his face.

"But you have doubts."

"I've heard the government's scientists haven't been able to reproduce our results," Mitch admitted. "I'd be lying if I said that didn't concern me. Maybe it was a fluke. Or maybe it didn't work as well as we thought. Or maybe…"

"It worked," Abe reassured him. "Jamie and I saw it, too." He put a hand on Mitch's shoulder. "Don't let the doubts creep in. Whatever it was you did, it worked. And it will work again."

"They couldn't do it again because they haven't been able to find animals that weren't contaminated," Jackson added. "So they just gave up. They're going with Reiden's plan no matter what we say at this point. That's where this leopard changes everything. Chloe hasn't told anyone about him yet while we plan our next move."

Mitch nodded. He wished he could feel more confident, but there was only going to be one way to find the answer. If they couldn't use this cat, then everything was for naught. The beast rebellion would continue to expand. It would only be a matter of time before they were all dead.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note** : Thanks again for all of the kind reviews. As for this part of the story, the quotation referenced is William Shakespeare's. But he's dead, so hopefully he won't mind if Mitch borrows it.

"Oh my God…" Jamie's shock and horror filtered through the morning air as they drove away from the dock. They had told her the situation was bad but she never could have imagined _this_. Seemingly around every corner lurked a new threat from the animal kingdom. The streets were virtually devoid of people. The only human life she saw was a man standing guard with a rifle while his friend changed a flat tire. This was the eastern seaboard of the United States, yet she scarcely recognized it as the same world she'd dropped out of just three months prior; instead it reminded her of the hospital in Harare. How could this have happened?

The housing of the leopard was presenting a real problem; one that meant they would stay in a motel near the port for the night. Where exactly does one hide a fully grown leopard in a time when a pug is regarded as a threat? Mitch had a plan, but was dubious whether it would work. The consensus, however, was that it was the most workable plan anyone had yet submitted. So, the process of implementation would begin immediately.

They would need to rent a property with no close neighbors, one that had enough room for a suitable big cat enclosure. Moreover, it needed to be available for immediate occupancy. One stumbling block was the rental application. Mitch had solid enough credit, but the only one who could had gainful employment at the moment was Chloe, and her work could not be documented. And who would live there? Jackson seemed like the obvious choice given his experience as an animal behaviorist. But it would be better for Chloe to remain in the city to continue her work with the NSA. It was their only window into what was going on with the government efforts. If Mitch were there, he would have access to the animal when he needed it. Ultimately it was decided that the vet would reside on the land.

Jamie scoured the Internet looking for suitable properties. "How about a three bedroom two bath on three acres? Lots of trees. Looks pretty secluded. It's been vacant a long time, so they might be desperate enough to work with us."

Chloe leaned over her shoulder to take a look. "It's pretty far outside of the city. I'm going to have to get you that driver's license."

"Are we still going with Julie Harris?"

"Yes," Chloe replied as her ringtone sounded. "Oh, here's my contact now." She stepped to a corner of the room to take the call.

For her part, Jamie called the number on website, making arrangements for Dr. Morgan and his partner, Julie Harris, to view the property as soon as possible.

"Ok," Chloe returned, "the documentation part is done. When we get to Washington we will have to go and do a couple of photographs, then within one hour Julie will a have a license and a passport."

"How great is it to have a spy in my corner?" Mitch quipped, sipping his beer. "I wouldn't know where to begin with that."

Chloe grinned. "I wouldn't know where to begin with the care and keeping of a leopard. Each of us has a role to play."

"Not to be a naysayer," Abe began, "but it will take several days at least to get into the property, assuming we can get a lease. Jamie's powers of persuasion are impressive, but this is a tall order. What do we do with him in the meantime? We all live in hotels or high rise apartments."

The cat had been successfully moved from the boat, evading customs along with Jamie, but was now stuck in the rented trailer behind the SUV.

"Let me make a couple of calls, see what I can do," Mitch answered. "With the zoos being closed and empty, I might know someone who can look the other way for a few days while he visits. I don't think I'd take the chance on leaving him there long, though."

"That's an awfully big risk," Jackson said. "I mean, if your friend blows the whistle, it's all over."

"They're not exactly working these days, zoo are abandoned. All I need is a couple of access codes. I'll tell them it's for research or something."

"Hide him in plain sight. Funny to live in a time when a zoo is the last place someone would look for a leopard," Abe mused.

The following day, they returned to Washington D.C.. Chloe took Jamie to get her new identity, while the men took the leopard to the zoo. As he typed in the access code to gain entry to the enclosure, Mitch could not help shaking his head at the irony.

"Breaking into a zoo to _leave_ an animal," he chuckled. "We've come full circle."

"No guns, please," Abraham replied dryly.

They watched as the leopard explored his new surroundings.

"We're gonna have to keep him in the den," Jackson said. "Only let him out into the viewing area while one of us is here to make sure no one sees him."

"Check everything carefully," Mitch walked the enclosure, examining each item he found. "Make sure there are no Reiden products."

"Or even Reiden subsidiary products," Jackson agreed. "We can't have this guy getting contaminated by the mother cell."

Soon they were confident that it was safe. After letting him exercise for a good long while they secured him in the den. On the way out, Jackson stopped short.

"Hey."

"Hey, what?" Mitch was confused.

"That." Jackson pointed to the security camera viewing the enclosure. "I know they aren't operational right now, but what are the chances Jamie can hack into the system so we can keep an eye on our friend here?"

"Something else I wouldn't know where to begin with. Have to ask Jamie. But yeah, I'm sure she can do it."

"What's the word on the lease?" Abe asked as they made their way back to the truck.

"No lease," Mitch told him glumly. "I am officially unemployed. I can show reserves, but no source of steady income. Jamie's working on a pay in advance month to month deal. With any luck it won't be more than a month or two anyway, right?"

Jackson laughed. "This saving the world stuff is brutal. But if anyone can persuade them, it's Jamie."

"I think I should have done it," Mitch joked. "I'm a people person."

"If it were up to you to do the negotiating, you would be living under a bridge."

"Wait," it was Mitch's turn to stop short. "I should, uh, I should microchip him. That way, we can always be sure _who_ he is and _where_ he is. I'm sure I can find what I need here."

"Good idea," Abe said. "Maybe you should do that now."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jamie peered out the kitchen window. Yes, perfect. The cat's pen was entirely visible from the window, yet couldn't be seen from the road or the neighboring properties. She gave a thumbs up to her friends gathered in the center. The leopard would be moved as soon as the team was confident that the gates and fences were completely animal-proofed. The state of the art security system, in tandem with a series of locks, was put in place to help intruder-proof too. They could never be one hundred percent safe against those bent on stealing the cat, but they resolved to make it as difficult as possible.

They had been in the house for two days now. It was an older home, but recently remodeled and certainly comfortable enough to suit their needs. It was curious; a part of her felt like she was playing house with a man she'd known a relatively short time. At the same time she felt as if she'd known him forever. Of course, in that relatively short span of time they had been all over the world, in luxury apartments and remote wilderness, sometimes under intense pressure, with the weight of the world on their shoulders, sometimes having fun. They had faced death together more than once, and come out victorious. They'd learned more about one another in that six months than many couples do in a lifetime.

She glanced over at the laptop on the kitchen table. Jackson had asked her if she could redirect the zoo's security cameras, and she was more than happy to oblige. She pushed back memories of her last zoo camera escapade, refusing to let self-doubt derail this project. The remote viewers had been set up at Jackson's and Abraham's homes, too, thus tripling their odds of catching anything untoward before it got out of hand. She had arranged it as a split screen with the left side watching the den and the right side watching the paddock. So far, the leopard's stay had been uneventful.

After the others were gone, Mitch entered the kitchen to find her staring furtively at the passport in her hand.

"Something wrong with it?"

Jamie let out a long sigh. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's my third one in six months. Julie Harris. Julie Harris. Julie Harris. Learn it, live it…until the next one."

He leaned in for a long sweet kiss. He pulled just far enough away to speak, so close she could feel his breath still.

"I'm in love with you…not the letters on the passport," he said softly. " _'And for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself'._ "

"I love you, too."


	8. Chapter 8

Two more stumbling blocks remained before the cure could be formulated and distributed: First, they needed access to the mother cell locked away in the lab of the authorities. Second, they would need to ascertain the most viable delivery method.

During their time at sea, Jackson had posited to the group his idea about mosquitos. Mitch had reservations about the plan, but decided first things should come first. He needed to have the cure before he would worry about what to do with it.

Chloe and Jackson currently had the unenviable task of convincing the powers that be to allow them to borrow the mother cell, or at least part of it. Failing that, the team would be forced to steal it, either from the government or from Reiden. After all, if Reiden had two they likely had more. Probably one large one from which they cut the smaller chunks, Mitch figured.

It was funny how they had assumed that Reiden had sought the stolen mother cell because it was the only one they had. Now Mitch knew that the true motive had been more sinister than he'd imagined—they had plenty of mother cell. They wanted Leo Butler's returned because of its evidentiary potential.

Some of those weeks he'd spent sitting on the barstool had been used for contemplation. As much as he had wanted to forget all of it, the scientist in him needed answers. Why had Reiden Global assembled the team in the first place? What is to find any evidence so that it, and they, could be destroyed? If so, then Mitch had played right into their hands by insisting that Jamie be included as well. Perhaps they truly wanted him to synthesize a cure that they could then hijack, discarding him and the others like so much excess baggage. Then they could solve the problem, erase the evidence and play the heroes. He had pondered Gaspard " _Mystery Man In A Very Nice Suit Who_ _ **Knows**_ _Things_ " Alves. How did Alves know so much about them, anyway? Sure, the demographic and biographic information were easy enough to obtain, but how did he know about Mitch's theories? Or where they would be that day?

And now here he sat, still without answers, attempting to obtain the mother cell. Again. At least he had Jamie. And he knew no matter how frustrated or discouraged he may become, she would never, ever let him give up. Truth be told, as long as he had her, he would never, ever want to give up.

The makeshift lab was ready to go, complete with an electroporator he, er, borrowed with his friend's access code. While the zoo was closed, it wouldn't be missed. Either that, or he was soon to have another ex-friend. All they needed now was the mother cell in order to begin the procedure.

Now that he was in hurry-up-and-wait mode, he decided to use his time to help Jamie sort though the volumes of data obtained from the flash drive. He made his way to the living room where she studied the computer screen. Peering over her shoulder, he asked "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Anything," she answered. "Anything that looks familiar, like something we've dealt with. Anything that seems out of place, incongruous. Right now I'm specifically scanning for any Intel they had on us."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Maybe," she pushed the laptop aside and picked up Hartley's bible. "What do you suppose he meant about Jackson's dad?"

"What?"

"Hartley. At the optometrist's office, when Jackson asked him how he knew his father, he said 'your father did this to me.' Presuming meaning afflicted him with the mutation somehow. But how? And why? What do you think he meant?"

"Jackson has all his father's papers."

"Oh my god, he's been over them all backwards and forwards. You've looked at them, too. So have I. We did find anything."

"When I looked at them, I'd never heard of Evan Lee Hartley. I disregarded what seemed like gibberish." Mitch winced at his own use of the derogatory term, but it was a fair representation of how he had felt at the time. "I wish I'd paid more attention to it now."

"I never realized until after the crash," he began, "how similar your stories are—you and Robert Oz."

She stared intently at him. Where was he going with this?

"He was passionate about what he believed. He tried his damnedest to warn humanity. Yet everyone, myself included, discounted him, derided him, wrote him off as a nut job. And, as it turns out, he was totally, completely, one hundred percent right. We've proven it. He died before he could be vindicated. It cost him everything."

"It nearly destroyed me when I thought the same fate befell you." He pulled off his glasses and ran his hand from his forehead to his chin. "Make sure he gets his due, ok?"

"Of course," she nodded.

Jamie decided to lighten the mood a bit. "So you're saying I was…?"

Mitch rolled his eyes playfully. "…Driven? Tenacious? Persistent? Determined?"

"Keep going, Roget."

"Ok, _right_. Yes, you were right. Sooooo incredibly right. Would you like me to have it tattooed on the body part of your choice?"

"No, that's ok," she laughed.

"Good. 'Cause I'm not gonna do that."

"The Hartley-Oz connection is a loose end. I'd really like the answer, but I don't know if we'll ever find it." Something on the computer screen caught her eye."Well, if you wanna look here while I…wait—what is this?"

Mitch stared, waiting for her to elaborate.

"How, how did they know this?!"

"Know what, exactly?"

"Here… _here_!" she pointed. She read from the report, "'Dr. Morgan theorizes that the lions responded to the cub's distress, which would require not only the ability to communicate but to do so across a long distance.'"

She glanced up to see his quizzical expression. "Mitch, this entry is from July 7th. We told Senator Vaughn on July 11th, and it was weeks later before we told anyone else."

He sat beside her. "Alves knew it, too."

"But how? I mean obviously he got it from Reiden, but how did they know?"

"Keep looking. What else did they—" Mitch was interrupted by the ring of his phone. He removed it from his pocket and looked at the caller ID. "Chloe."

"Hey, Chloe. What's up?"

After a short conversation he set the phone on the coffee table.

"Well, Sage says no go on the mother cell without a better explanation for why we want it."

"Damnit, I'd really like to talk to her." Jamie lamented. This "gotta stay dead" thing had some definite disadvantages.

"If anyone could talk her into it, you could," Mitch agreed. "But, no. Let's let Chloe keep trying while we figure out where we need to go from here."

She closed the lap top. "What we need is meat. We're almost out of beef. I can't believe how much he eats. We have enough for about another day and a half. And the farm I got the last slab from is out, so we have to find a new supplier."

The problem was that since the animals spiraled out of control, the supply and the demand for beef had greatly decreased. Most domestic animals, including livestock, had been ordered to quarantine centers. Why would farmers withstand the risk and difficulty of keeping cattle if no one was eating beef, anyway? To further complicate the issue, the meat must be organically grown. They couldn't chance the possibility that a pesticide contaminated with the mother cell had been used.

"Any ideas?"

"I have a few numbers to try. But it's gonna be pricey."

"Color me shocked." Though Mitch would not admit it yet, finances were beginning get sticky. He and Jamie were both unemployed, as was Jackson. Abe had a job with a modest yet unpredictable income. Chloe had steady income, but she was the only one. Basically, anything the team needed was coming out of the savings of Mitch and Chloe. And while Mitch couldn't speak for the Frenchwoman, on his end he knew the well would eventually run dry.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mitch…" Jamie called from the master bedroom. "You have to see this."

He followed her voice into the room and found her peering out the window into the yard. He grimaced at what he saw.

Three massive lowland gorillas and four orangutans stood side by side just twenty feet away. Mitch felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"So I guess I'm not going out for the beef right now."

"Uh, no," he answered, suddenly wondering about the relative strength of the home's windows and doors. Or for that matter, he supposed, walls.

As if reading his mind, she wondered aloud, "Maybe we should fence the entire property? Not just the leopard enclosure."

"It would take one hell of a fence to keep _them_ out," he said grimly. His mind flashed back to 'The Murders In the Rue Morgue'. _Damn, that crazy Poe knew what he was talking about._

"What should we do?"

"Don't confront them. Don't make eye contact. Hopefully they'll try to find an easier target somewhere else."

"And if they don't?"

"If those are the only ones then we can get out the front to the car." He tried to sound more calm than he felt. "Stay here. I'm going to check the other windows."

He had reservations about separating, especially in a dangerous situation, but he needed to know whether they were surrounded. As long as the animals could see Jamie, maybe they wouldn't feel the need to split up and encircle the house.

Satisfied that the seven in view were all there were, he returned to her side. At least they had a viable escape route should the apes decide to charge. The three month long hell was fresh in his mind; he didn't want to let her out of his sight.

"I'm telling myself it's coincidence," she said, " that they've avoided touching any of the places that would trip the alarm."

Mitch nodded. "Let's go with that."

As mysteriously as they appeared, the apes turned and walked away from the house, fading back into the woods.

"Why are they leaving?" Jamie wondered aloud.

What should have brought relief instead brought a generalized pervasive uneasiness. "I don't know."

For now, the threat was gone. It wouldn't be long, though, before the animals got to each and every person he loved. They had to get that mother cell now.


	9. Chapter 9

Jamie's thoughts were occupied with how best to do the right thing by everyone involved. Look at the price they had paid: professionally, Chloe was still in good shape. Personally, however, her relationship with her only living relative, her sister, was damaged beyond repair. The affair with Jean-Michel had strained it, but Chloe's refusal to give up the team during Nathalie's torture had severed it completely. Of course, the failure of the team would have cost Nathalie her life anyway, but Nathalie had no way of knowing that. Jackson's fun-loving life as a safari animal behaviorist was long since in the rear view mirror, and worse, he had been unable to contact his mother in Botswana for months. He had no way to know if she was dead or alive. He always had to live in the shadow of his often ridiculed father; now, the knowledge that the elder's seemingly maniacal rantings had actually been correct left him riddled with guilt and regret. Abe found himself stranded in a foreign world from the he'd always known. He had also lost his livelihood, his job as a safari guide which he had loved, and had no way to reach his cousins. His calm demeanor belied his despair over not knowing their fates. Mitch's teaching career, as well as his work as a veterinary pathologist, were over and done with—at least for the time being. He had very little contact with his ex-wife and therefore his daughter. Presumably, they were still safely ensconced at the home of Justin's parents, but there was nowhere that was completely safe from the animals, and he had not heard from them in more than a month now. At that time, Clementine was doing well. They could only hope that nothing had changed. As for Jamie herself, well, her troubles were well-documented. Idiotic. Paranoid. Pathetic. These words had been spoken directly to her face as she'd tried to warn people about Reiden Global. She was fired from her job. She couldn't help but wonder what awaited her and Mitch when this was all over and they returned to Los Angeles.

And they were the lucky ones. Consider Robert Oz, and his dear wife who believed in him. They had lost their lives. And Leo Butler. He had also been on a mission to make Reiden pay for their crimes; he, too, had died in the battle. Even Hartley, hardly a sympathetic character, had been a victim of the mutation. Nathalie Tousignant had suffered immeasurably, and she didn't even know why. Delavenne put everything on the line when he betrayed Reiden and was now living underground with his family. And then there were the millions of people around the world who'd been slaughtered in pain and fear by animals. All victims of Reiden Global's greed and carelessness.

Reaffirming her vow to bring justice for all of them, Jamie looked over her manuscript. It was coming together nicely. _How to Save the World on $11 a Day._ That was the title she once joked she'd use for her book. Probably a little flippant for the seriousness of the subject matter, she mused, but still pretty accurate.

It was then that something on the computer screen caught her eye. _Oh my God_ …The recognition of what she was seeing hit her like a ton of bricks. She began to feel ill.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We can't take the one the government has," Abe said. "They would know right away that it was us and they would discover our secret friends."

"Could we just cut off a very small piece and leave the rest? Maybe they wouldn't know it was missing. It's sitting in a warehouse while it's not being used." Chloe suggested as she poured the wine.

Jackson and Chloe had invited the others to their apartment to discuss the mother cell issue. Jamie opted to stay behind and work on her research.

"Maybe," Jackson considered, "but it's a seriously secure warehouse. We're not just gonna walk in there. How much do you need?"

"For two test doses?" Mitch responded. "Very little. A few grams, maybe."

"Maybe we can get it from the source," Abe offered.

"Reiden? Maybe, but do you know where they keep it?" Mitch sniped. "Somehow I doubt it's hanging on a wall with a sign reading 'in case of animal apocalypse, break glass.'"

"No, but maybe you're on the right track," Jackson had an idea. "We're going to walk right in the front door and ask them where it is. And they're going to tell us."

Seeing three skeptical expressions, he continued. "Look, it's a simple confidence game. The best ones for the job are Jamie and me, but obviously Jamie's not marching into the head office of Reiden Global."

He walked over and put his arm around Mitch's shoulder. "That's where you come in."

"Think again, Einstein," Mitch removed the arm. "They know my face, my name, everything. I'll be made the instant I walk in there."

"That's what I'm counting on."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You won't believe the plan that's in the works," Mitch said as he walked in the front door. Jamie sat on the sofa with the lap top in front of her. She was white as a sheet.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh my God, Mitch," she began sadly. "It was me. Me. I'm the rat."

"Catch me up."

"I'm the reason they always seemed to know what we were up to. Look at this," she pointed to the screen. "I typed this. On my computer. Word for word. They had to have gotten this from me. Don't you see? They cloned my freaking hard drive! And I didn't have a clue."

She began pacing the room anxiously. "They probably installed some kind of spyware at the same time. I can't believe this! That's how they knew. I'm the rat!"

Mitch attempted to offer comfort. "So…we hate you now? Don't be so hard on yourself, Jamie. You couldn't have known. Look at the bright side: this means they've been watching you far longer than you thought. That's flattering, no? You must scare the shit out of them."

"That's why they didn't know we were in Zambia. I never made a single entry there because I had no way to charge it."

"Well, we know this computer is clear because they're unaware that you're still a threat to them. You're now officially a secret weapon."

"Awesome," Jamie said wryly. "So, um, what's this about a plan?"

"Apparently we're going to run on a con at Reiden Global to find out the location of the mother cell."

"Ooh, I so wanna be in on that!"

"Ooh, you so cannot be!" Mitch reminded her. "The fun part is that somehow Jackson thinks I should be."

"But they know you. Could you be arrested if you do this?"

"For what? I'm not planning to get caught doing anything other than being a jerk. No law against being a jerk. If there were, I'd be doing life without parole already," he shrugged. "Ask anyone."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mitch plopped himself in the chair in front of the CEO's desk. Clayton Burke, Chief Executive Officer, the plaque read. Ah, how familiar, Mitch thought.

Burke leaned back in his chair.

"Well, well, well Mr. Morgan…"

" _Doctor_ ," Mitch interrupted.

"Pardon me, Dr. Morgan. We meet again. To what do I owe the honor?"

"I'm here to make you an offer."

"An offer? From you? You proved yourself to be pretty untrustworthy when you failed to keep your end of the bargain last time."

"I was busy trying to clean up the mess you and your flunkies made. But, hey, if you're not interested in hearing what I have to say, I'll leave right now." He began to rise from his seat but stopped when Burke motioned for him to sit.

"What is it that you think might interest me?"

"You cost me a lot, you know," Mitch replied angrily. "It took me three months to be able to go through Jamie's things, but when I did, I found this." He retrieved a flash drive from his pocket and held it up for the man to see.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Everything that was stolen from the computer system in Paris," Mitch confirmed.

"And how do I know this is the only copy?"

"You don't. But since I go to prison if I violate the non-disclosure, it's useless to me to make copies." Mitch lied convincingly. His tone dripped bitterness. "I just thought since I have no income, and you have a vested interest in making sure this doesn't fall into the wrong hands, we might be able to make a deal."

"So now you've sunk to extortion?"

"Call it whatever you like."

Burke quickly scrawled some number on a post-it.

"I'm willing to pay this much. After my people verify the authenticity."

Mitch glanced disapprovingly at the paper and wadded it up. A quick toss and it was in the trash can. "Add another zero."

Burke stood. "Give me five minutes to have it checked out. Then you'll get your cash."

Mitch handed the flash drive to him, and the man left office and disappeared down a hallway. He knew two things: first, that a well-disguised Jackson was watching from the outer office and would follow the flash drive as far as possible. And second, that he was about to get tossed out on his rump. _Any minute now_ , he thought. A few moments later, two security guards appeared with Burke.

"Ah, here's my escort now," he mumbled. As expected, the guards flanked Mitch and began to remove him from the premises.

"Don't come back here, Dr. Morgan," Burke snarled. "Next time we won't be so pleasant."

Now it was up the locator chip hidden within the flash drive to do its job.

"It's moving again," Jamie announced. "It's still in the building, though."

Chloe ended her call. "Jackson followed it as far as he could until it entered a secure area."

"Now we just have to hope that they store it where they store their other valuables, like the mother cell," Abraham said.

"Wait, now it's on the road."

Chloe called Jackson again. "They're heading south on Martin Road, passing Nebraska Avenue."

"Ok, we're about four blocks from there. We'll catch up."

Jackson and Mitch followed directions until they were in viewing distance of the car containing the flash drive, but not close enough to arouse suspicion. Jackson readied the camera while Mitch drove. The vehicle came to a stop at a nondescript warehouse in an industrial district. Mitch parked out of the visibility of Reiden's men. Jackson diligently videotaped while they entered the security code, hoping against hope he could capture the code. That would certainly save them a lot of difficulty. A deep growling came from behind the bushes. Mitch knew that sound.

"Jackson! Get back in the car. Wolves!"

"Got it!" Jackson jumped into the passenger seat and closed the door. "I'm pretty sure I got it!"

"Let's get it home and see."


	10. Chapter 10

The team reassembled at the farmhouse to study the video. Jamie put the SD card into the computer.

"Wow, the angle's perfect, Jackson," she said. "You got it enough from the side so that the man's not blocking the view, but not so much that we can't see the numbers."

"I just hope the mother cell is there," Chloe warned.

"They're too smart to risk putting it all in one place," Jackson surmised. "They'll have pieces stashed all over the place."

"I hope you're right. That greatly increases our odds that they have some at the warehouse. It likely won't be as secure as if it were the only one, either," Jamie chimed in hopefully. "Ok, I'm gonna zoom and freeze-frame it. Here we go…"

"Seven zero zero zero one nine four. Got it," Jackson jotted down the numbers as Jamie froze the screen on each one.

"So everyone meets here again at ten o'clock," Jamie confirmed the plan. "Then Jackson, Abe and I go to the warehouse."

"Why you?" Mitch was now at full attention, setting his beer on the counter.

"Why not me? Someone has to be the lookout."

"Because if you get recognized, this whole thing is for nothing. And then you really are dead. Don't forget that part."

"How am I going to get recognized? We'll be wearing masks. I feel like I need to do something to earn my keep here," she rationalized.

"Like Chloe said, each of us has our role to play," Mitch tried his hardest to dissuade her. "Your role, at this point, is to tell our story."

Jackson started to speak up but was silenced by Abraham's _you don't want to get in the middle of this_ glare before the words could come out of his mouth.

"Which I can do a lot more effectively if I've actually witnessed the story," Jamie pointed out. "Relax, I'm not even going in. I'll just wait outside so I can warn them if anyone shows up."

"Alone. In the dark. With who the hell even knows what creatures are out there. There's safety in numbers, Jamie. You know that. No one goes out alone at night."

"You're reaching. In the same way I can warn them if someone's coming, I can call them if _something_ is coming," she moved to face him and put her hand gently on his cheek. "I appreciate the concern, I really do. But you've got to loosen the grip just a little. It'll be fine. I'm stubborn-you're not getting rid of me that easy."

Mitch was unconvinced, but knew when to surrender. The rational part of him acknowledged that he was overreacting. The emotional part, however, desperately needed to be sure she was safe. He couldn't survive losing her again. He picked up the beer and finished it with one long swig.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Abraham set the baggie on the table. "Here you go."

Mitch was incredulous. "It can't be that easy."

"It was that easy," Jackson confirmed. "I entered the code to disable the security system, Abe jimmied the lock and we got what we needed. In and out. Re locked the door, reset the alarm, and no one need ever know we were there."

"Worst thing we encountered was a pissed off Persian cat. But then, they always look pissed off," Jamie joked, hoping to ease Mitch's mind.

"We just trimmed a little off the back of it so as not to be conspicuous."

"It's perfect," Mitch agreed as he examined it. "I used less than this last time and got two doses."

He had exactly what he needed now, yet that brought no relief. It was all on him to synthesize the cure. It worked before, but now there was the lingering suspicion that something had changed with the leopard. This had to work, or Reiden's mass extermination project was going to be implemented. It had already begun on a small scale; euthanasia programs were underway at the quarantine centers.

"It's late," Abe said. "I've got to get going. Mitch, what time should I come back to help you with the leopard?"

"I don't know, it's just after midnight now, so maybe ten? Ish?"

"We will be here," replied Jackson. "You have enough tranquilizers?"

"Yeah, it should work. The biggest challenge is moving him to the table after he's out."

"All right, good night, guys."

From the window, Mitch and Jamie watched their friends get into their vehicles and drive off. She kissed him long and intently, and slowly felt the tension drain from his body.

"See? It's going to be fine. We're all going to be fine."

He responded by kissed her, lingering on her soft lips.

"I love you."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The morning light shone through the crack in the drapes, beaming right into Mitch's eyes. He gently nudged Jamie to the side, and sat at the edge of the bed. A yawn and a stretch later, he picked up his glasses from the bedside table and placed them on his face. Large fingers deftly buttoned up his shirt. He went to the window and parted the drapes to peek out at the leopard lying in his pen.

"Today's the big day, Buddy. Your time to shine," he said softly.

He padded to the kitchen to start coffee brewing. So much was riding on this today. Somehow the pressure was just as intense as it was back in that hospital in Harare. He knew that this should work—after all, it worked before. Yet if it didn't…well, he couldn't allow his mind to go there.

He picked up the remote control and switched on the television to check the morning news. Great, he noted, another massacre. This time it involved tigers in Chicago. And, of course, random smaller scale killings were happening, well, everywhere. _Jesus, this sucks_ , he thought. He never thought he'd live to see the day when he longed to hear about traffic jams, purse snatchings, meth lab busts, pretty much anything besides incessant animal attacks. The stakes had never been so high.

The leopard had begun pacing for his breakfast. Mitch took the bottle of pills from the cabinet and counted out the dose he intended to hide in the cat's meat. Oral absorption would take longer, but given the difficulty getting needles through the skin of affected animals it seemed the simplest route. He would feed the medicated food around nine o'clock to insure the animal would be in a deep sedation by the time Jackson and Abe arrived.

He checked the lab to make certain all of his supplies were ready. He'd never extracted bone marrow from a live animal before, so he doubled the number of needles and syringes he had at the ready, just in case.

The morning wore on. The duo had breakfast and fed the leopard. Sure enough, he was unconscious by the time Abe and Jackson arrived to assist with the experiment.

"Chloe wanted to come, but she had to go to work at the last minute," Jackson explained. "I have strict instructions to record this for posterity."

Mitch felt his stress surge again. "Let's hope there's something to see or that movie's gonna be a box office flop."

"A must see." Jamie propped him.

"Edge of your seat," Abe joined.

"Well, then let's get this show on the road."

They carefully maneuvered the leopard onto the examination table. Mitch motioned toward his instruments laid out on a sterile field.

"I'd prefer not to harm him if we can avoid it, so let's keep this as sterile as possible."

Damn, this was tough with all these eyes on him. It was much easier, though still nerve-wracking, when it was just Jamie and they were conversing throughout. Now all three stood by silently, so hopeful and expectant. "So, heard any good jokes lately?," he quipped.

When the procedure was finished, the cat was returned to his enclosure none the worse for wear. Now began the process of extracting the stem cells and introducing the mother cell into the mixture. Soon the electroporator was doing its part.

"I can't believe I forgot this, but, uh, we're still going to need a test animal."

Abe smiled. "It's in the back of the truck."

"I should have known."

Abe left and returned with a pet carrier containing a small mutt. Mitch peered in at it as it growled and snarled.

"Ah, you went the non-lethal route this time."

The electroporator beeped, signaling that the moment of reckoning was at hand. Mitch removed the solution and stared at it with a furrowed brow. He drew up a small amount into a syringe and injected it into a tiny piece of beef. "Let's hope he's hungry."

Jackson kept the camera rolling and zoomed in on the dog as Mitch quickly placed the beef in the crate. The snack vanished into the mouth of the animal. Mitch began pacing the room.

"How long does it take?" Jackson asked.

"It was really fast before," Jamie replied. "Just a few minutes."

Sure enough, within minutes the dog settled down.

"I can't believe I'm seeing this," Jackson murmured, handing the camera to Abe. He reached into the crate and petted the dog, who licked his hand in return. "When we picked him up, he tried to take my hand off. His pupil is normal already. How is that possible?"

"Amazing, isn't it?" Abe agreed.

Mitch leaned against the wall and sunk slowly to the floor as he exhaled. It worked. Again. The fight against the animal uprising had new life. The cure could be distributed, Jamie could finish her manuscript and their lives could finally begin to return to normal. No, they couldn't, he realized. They would have a new normal. What would it look like? He looked forward to finding out.

He looked over at Jamie and saw that she was looking at him. She began to smile broadly, and as if it were contagious, it spread over his face as well.

"How much more do we have?" Jackson asked.

"With the amount of mother cell we have, there's about two more doses. We have enough stem cells for more," Mitch was surprised he managed to get the words out.

Jackson pulled out his phone. "I'm gonna have Chloe set up a conference with Amelia Sage."

"Let's not jump ahead," Mitch cautioned.

"You don't trust her?"

"Forgive me, but I don't trust anyone outside of the five of us with this. I need to hear more about your delivery system."

"Sage is good, she's completely trustworthy. I'm sure her team can help us iron out the details of the mosquito plan."

"She's a politician. Politicians are paid to politic, not to think. I'm not giving those yahoos anything until I can give them detailed idiot-proof step by step instructions on what to do with it. We shared everything we knew with them before and they still couldn't get it right."

Jackson was beginning to become agitated. "Mitch, she's done nothing but help us. She got us all immunity. She totally believes everything we said about Reiden Global."

"And yet she still signed off on the deal indemnifying them." Mitch was not budging.

"She had to, to get the mother cell."

"She could have done that exactly the way that we did."

"Prior to that, we didn't even know there was more of the mother cell," Jackson countered. "You're not the only one making the decisions here."

"I'm not saying 'no', Jackson, I'm just saying we need to nail down the details of the distribution plan first."

"Im sorry, Rafiki. I agree with Mitch," Abe said gently.

"Me, too," Jamie voted.

"What exactly is it that you need to know?"

"Let's start with how you expect to inject mosquitos. Then we'll move on to how many? Where? What types?" Mitch rose and moved to a chair in the center of the group. "From my experience with the mutated animals, mosquito bites are going to be useless. Remember the endoskeletons on those bears? The needle bent. And when we injected the dog in Zimbabwe, it was a spectacular failure."

"So you're just totally shooting me down."

"No, I'm not. I don't think the bites will work, but I do think using mosquitos as vectors can. Like you said, they lay their eggs in water, which will spread it. Every living creature needs at least a little bit of water. Some of the desert ones, however, get theirs from plants. We'd be totally relying on bites with them."

"That's a fair point," Jackson admitted.

Jamie raised a hand. "Stupid question? If it's in the groundwater, could it affect humans?"

"Yes," Jackson acknowledged, "but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Most of us have been exposed to the mutation, in one way or another."

"But so far, there's no evidence that the mutation can spread to humans. If it did, say through bites or scratches from affected animals, I'd be a serial killer by now. So would Jackson, Abe and Chloe," Mitch said.

"The only affected human we've seen was Evan Lee Hartley, and we have no idea what my father did, if anything, to convert him," Jackson agreed. "So the question is, could the cure have any harmful effects on people? Personally, I doubt it. In any case, I think the benefit outweighs the risk."

"Agreed," Mitch nodded. "Ok, next. Obviously, the more mosquitos we inject, and the more points of release around the world, the faster the spread will be. Drier areas, places where mosquitos are few and far between, there's our challenge."

"Covering most of the planet is better than covering none. And it will spread to those areas, it'll just take a little longer. We start with the most heavily populated areas and work outward for maximum preservation of life. We inject as many as our serum will allow. As for how to inject, it's really not that hard. They make small enough needles. Just look at the ones they use in some infertility procedures where they inject the sperm directly into the egg."

"Ok, ok," Mitch surrendered. "Call Amelia Sage. But be aware that I'm holding back some of the stem cells in case something mysteriously happens to the leopard. And don't say a word about Jamie yet."


	11. Chapter 11

Mitch leaned back in the wheeled office chair and remained silent as Jackson and Chloe explained to Amelia Sage and her team how they had fortuitously discovered the continued existence of the leopard and brought it back to the States. They informed them that they kept it a secret to stave off any potential interference from Reiden Global. The room fell silent as Jackson played the recording of Mitch's experiment.

"It's edited," Sage's advisor noted.

"Yes," Chloe said, "we had to redact it to protect the privacy of a person who was there. We did not alter anything about the creation of the cure or the test."

"For security purposes, we're going to need to know the identity of everyone who was present," Amelia informed them.

"That's not going to happen," Mitch spoke up at last. "We've been screwed too many times by people we thought were on our side who turned out to be on Reiden's payroll."

"Dr. Morgan, I promise you that I have no interest in helping Reiden Global. If this works, you and your friends are going to be heroes."

"How about this," Jackson offered, "test it yourself. Then once the distribution has begun, so we know that we have your full protection, we'll tell you who our friend is. Fair enough, Mitch?"

"Sure," Mitch waved dismissively. In reality he wasn't planning on telling anyone anything until Jamie finished her story. She was quite close to finishing, however, and the test would take a little time. The government doesn't do anything in a hurry, he reasoned.

"Do you have any serum remaining?" Sage asked.

Mitch nodded. "Yeah, about two more doses." He slid the vial across the table to her.

"Ok," she said. "We'll begin the test immediately and we'll be in touch. If it works the way it did in that video, we can begin replicating and disseminating it as early as tomorrow."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How did it go?" Jamie asked as Mitch walked in the door.

"We'll know soon enough. They're testing it already."

"Wow."

"I know, right? Who knew anything involving the government could be done in a reasonable time frame?" His voice failed to hide his concern.

"Don't be nervous," she comforted him. "It works, you know it does."

"And then they're gonna want to know about you."

"Me?"

"They want to know who was edited out of the video."

"Damn, I should have stayed out of sight and silent."

"No, you were—hey, what happened there?" He pointed to the cracked kitchen window.

"Birds," Jamie said simply.

"What kind of birds?"

"The kind that fly. There's like a million different kinds of birds, Mitch."

"Actually, about 10,000."

"Great, well these were brown with black feet if it helps. Anyway they're gone now, but as bad as that crack is, if anything else hits it, it's done."

"Going to have to board it up," he said, half to himself. "Had to drive five miles out of my way thanks to coyotes."

"Well, the good news is," she patted the laptop, "I'm up to the plane crash. Almost done."

Mitch glanced at the screen on his ringing telephone then answered it. "Hey, Chloe….good, so what's next?...ok, are they going to come get him?...just a minute, you know what, let me call you back."

He drew in a deep breath and let it out.

"The test they did with the dose I gave them was a success. Now they want the leopard to try it themselves."

"So they're coming? How are they planning to use just one leopard to create enough cure for everyone?"

"I'm sure they'll clone some cells. They'll be here in about an hour. Listen, uh, Chloe really trusts this Sage lady and wants to tell her you're alive. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it's your call."

"By the time it makes it through all of the official channels to have me declared alive, I'll be ready to publish. So as long as this person truly isn't dirty, I'm fine with it."

A little over an hour later, Jamie stood outside the leopard's pen as two handlers sedated him and loaded him into a truck.

"You're not going to hurt him, right?"

"No, ma'am, he's gonna be the most pampered cat ever. He's a hero, too."

Nodding, she gave a half smile and went back into the house.

"So in just forty eight short hours, Jamie Campbell will be alive again," Mitch commented. "Chloe told them the whole story. They're working on an expedited passport so you have some ID."

"Yay! And I'll be publishing by then. I'm hoping to be finished by morning. Then I want you to read it, give me honest feedback."

She settled in to work on her manuscript, and indeed was occupied late into the night. Mitch sat in bed, doing a little research of his own on his iPad. It appeared that Virginia was where they needed to go. Yes, Virginia, nice and close, he thought. That would work beautifully.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By noon the next day, they received word that all tests were successful. Distribution would begin immediately. Once the press got word of what exactly it was that the government was doing with those mosquitos, there would be no stopping the spread of the news.

Mitch sat reading the pages Jamie printed for him, offering comments here and there.

"I like what you did there. About Ray," he told her.

"Ray was certifiable, but he had a good heart. He really did care about the animals. He didn't deserve to die the way he did."

"That he didn't."

Soon he had read the paper in its entirety.

"So…anything to add? Constructive criticism?," she asked anxiously.

"Well, you could expound a little on the brave scientist's brilliant mind and dashing good looks, but other than that, perfect. What now?"

"Hmm?"

"Now that it's finished, what are you gonna do with it?"

"That's a really good question. My first inclination is to walk into the office at AP. But the Washington Post might be faster. It's a little long for a newspaper, though…"

"Not really my area of expertise, but I would go with the fastest route. It'll spread like wildfire anyway. Maybe concurrently talk to someone like 60 Minutes."

"That's not a bad idea," she agreed. "I won't lie, I'm still pretty pissed that they can't be held criminally liable."

"No, but they can tried in the court of public opinion."

"It's possible that civil action can be taken, too. Guess it depends on the wording of the deal they made with the government. Can you imagine the class-action suit?"

"I would very much like to imagine that," he responded honestly.

"First things first, I guess. I'm going to make copies for the others. I want to make sure everyone is happy with it. I can't believe it's almost over. Soon I can be me again."

"I see you're publishing as Jamie Campbell."

"It's ok, right?"

"Yeah, yeah Reiden won't touch you after that hits the papers. Everyone would know it was them. They'll have enough bad publicity to deal with without a Karen Silkwood on their hands. Ah, poor Clayton. He's in for a tough time," he couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. "Poor bastard'll never see it coming."

Jamie had the printer overheating by the time two more copies had been inked. The couple then set out to deliver them, one for Abe and one for Jackson and Chloe. If no one suggested any changes, she would go to the press the following day.

By early evening, they were called to a meeting with Amelia Sage's team. They were briefed on what was to happen and when, and Jamie was finally introduced to the woman she'd been hearing about for weeks. She was shocked to be presented with her new passport so quickly. The icing on the cake, however, was when Amelia assured her that Reiden's deal did not release them from civl liability; it merely protected them criminal charges and, through the gag orders, effectively squashed any evidence that could be used against them in a lawsuit. Jamie's lack of a gag order left her evidence on the table.

The rollout of the cure had begun in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.. More cities would follow the next day as they spread across the country. Most of the European Union was on board as well, provided the initial U.S. rollout went well. Other nations would surely follow suit.

After the meeting, Chloe, Jackson, Abe and Jamie went to dinner. Mitch excused himself, giving a vague story about needing to run some errands. Jamie was mystified, but she trusted him, so she didn't question it any further. He was in an exceptionally good mood; whatever he was up to couldn't be too terrible, she figured.

Mitch drove around to three stores before he found one that was both open and had what he wanted. Satisfied with his purchase, he went to join the others at the restaurant for dessert. There were few eateries that remained open for business, but still the clientele was small. Most people simply did not venture out after dark anymore.

The group said their good nights and parted ways. Jamie was curious when Mitch steered the car in the opposite direction of their home.

"Where are we going?"

"Just someplace I want you to see."

They pulled up to the curb near a bar and Mitch cut the engine. "We're here."

"This should be interesting," Jamie mused.

As they entered, Mitch sauntered immediately over to examine the jukebox.

"Still no Soundgarden?" He smiled at the bartender.

"Hey, man," Dalton greeted him.

"Glad to see you're still here. And Bamba, too," he said as he scratched the pug's ears.

"I ain't going nowhere. Why you been such a stranger?"

"I was sitting here one night, pondering the crappy turn life had taken, and just like that," he snapped his fingers and pointed to Jamie, "I had a miracle just drop into my lap," Mitch answered. "How about a couple of beers, for old times sake."

Suddenly, she got it. She understood why this bar held significance for him. She chose the barstool next to his and sat.

Dalton set the beer on the counter and went about serving other customers.

Mitch looked at Jamie. "You're wondering why we're here," he acknowledged.

"This is where you were when I called."

"This very stool. I sat here every night for three months, perfecting the art of anesthetizing myself so I didn't have to feel the grief, or the rage, or the hopelessness or…or anything at all. And then in the blink of an eye everything changed. And there was hope and kindness and beauty in the world again. A new beginning, if you will."

"For me, too."

Mitch turned to Jamie with the same intensity in his gaze that overwhelmed her in that hospital lab what felt like a lifetime ago. "I've learned that life is very, very delicate and unpredictable. It can be insanely beautiful and brutally cruel at the same time. It's difficult to navigate on its best day. But it's much easier knowing that there's someone you can count on, someone who will always have your back. That one person makes the entire struggle worthwhile, gives it meaning and value."

He reached into his pocket and produced the ring. "I'm quite certain that you're that one person for me. And I'd like to be the one for you."

"You already are," her voice was barely a whisper.

"So let's get married. I'd be honored if you would be my wife."

She felt almost paralyzed by the weight of the moment, just as she had before; but this time there would be no bolting for the exit. She knew exactly what she wanted.

"I'd be honored to be your wife." She leaned in and kissed him lovingly. "So, yes."

They barely touched their beers. They simply wanted to take in the moment and each other.

"Anything else?" Dalton asked as he happened by.

"Maybe I should have ordered champagne. This amazing woman has agreed to marry me."

"She don't know what she's getting into," Dalton joked.

"Believe it or not, she does."

Jamie nodded. "It's true."

"Congrats! I hope it all works out for you."

"Well, Dalton, I want to thank you for putting up with me through an impossibly dark time. And don't worry, the thing with the animals is going to start getting better very soon and you won't have to protect the mutt from the quarantine centers."

"You know something I don't know?"

Mitch smiled. "Yep. And you'll see us again, on the news."


	12. Chapter 12

Three days had passed since the first of the mosquitos had been released. The team remained on pins and needles, hoping and praying for any small sign the problem was abating. Logically, they all knew it would take time for measurable progress to be made. Exactly how much time, well, that was the question. Today was the first time they had seen anything resembling progress: anecdotal reports of a few cats returning home as though nothing had happened, and a slight decrease in the number of reported animal attacks. They put more faith in the former, as the majority of the animal attacks went unreported anyway.

Jamie hadn't received any requests for changes to her story, so she had taken it the previous day to the news outlets. Mitch was the only member of the team she'd seen since the restaurant. By noon, her phone was blowing up. Indeed, the article had hit the papers. She ignored all the calls from numbers she didn't recognize.

Mitch came into the room with his phone ringing also. He quickly silenced it. "I'm thinking we need to go get a paper."

"Sounds like a plan."

The temperatures had dropped in recent days to what was more normal for early January in the D.C. area. Mitch and Jamie donned heavy coats, hats and gloves. They opened the front door to find Chloe, Jackson and Abe just about to ring the doorbell.

"Perfect timing," Chloe grinned.

"I'll say," said Mitch as Jackson presented him with the morning edition of the newspaper.

"The phone just won't stop ringing," Jackson said with a broad smile. They came in and shut the door. Mitch took their coats and removed his own as Jamie did the same.

She peeled off her gloves, exposing her ring finger.

"I told you!" Chloe tugged at Jackson's sleeve. "I told you it meant something."

"Wow, I guess it did," Jackson nodded as his smile spread.

"Am I missing something?" Mitch asked.

Jackson unfolded the paper and pointed to the article. "The byline."

Mitch wouldn't have thought something so small would matter to him, but somehow it did matter. He found himself pleased to read the byline. He had no idea she had made that change.

Jamie Campbell Morgan. It had a nice ring to it.

"Come on!" Jackson exclaimed. "You guys have been holding out on us. Spill it."

"We got married yesterday," Mitch answered matter of factly. "Virginia. No waiting period."

Abe gave Jamie a hearty hug. "Congratulations!"

After the exchange of many more hugs, Chloe asked, "You don't want a big wedding?"

"No," Jamie said, "we just decided to elope. It's the marriage I want, not the wedding."

While that was true, it wasn't the entire story. The reality was that neither of them had any family who would attend anyway, and the their only real remaining friends were in the room. Jamie knew immediately that she wanted to elope, and was surprised when she brought up the subject to find that Mitch already researched it in the hope that she would want it. They briefly considered inviting the rest of the team, but ultimately they wanted it to be private. Intimate.

"Thanks for understanding, guys. Anything on the news? We had it on this morning," Mitch said, "but there was nothing but the updates on the attacks."

"Let's put it on now," Abe suggested. "Our story has had hours now to break."

Jamie clicked the button on the remote control, illuminating the television screen. She handed the controller to Abe. "I'm gonna go start another pot of coffee."

Abraham began searching through the program guide with the sound muted.

"We didn't see any animals on the way here," Chloe said.

"This is a different satellite system than I have," Abe said, "where is the news?"

"42," Jackson replied.

"What is 42?"

"The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything," Mitch dead panned.

Mitch's phone rang yet again, this time electing a grimace as he checked the caller ID. "Excuse me, guys, I have to take this one." He disappeared into the back bedroom.

The television screen filled with images of their faces, just as it had a few months prior when they were on the lam. Every reporter in the world, it seemed, was frantically trying to verify the accuracy of the big story.

"Look, Reiden's stock is plummeting," Abe announced.

Chloe stood in the corner with a call of her own. After a moment she ended it. "We have been summoned," she reported. "At five o'clock they want us all for a press conference. We have to be there at three thirty for preparation."

"Apparently Amelia's tired of the calls already," Jackson said. "Good. We've been wanting to be heard for a long time."

"What about the non-disclosure agreements?" Abe wondered. "Perhaps we will talk only of our adventures and not answer any questions about Reiden Global?"

"I'm sure that's gonna be part of the 'preparation'," Jackson theorized. "Amelia promised we'd be heroes if we came back with the cure, now's her chance to make good on it."

"I don't need to be a hero," Jamie returned. "I just want to be Reiden's worst nightmare."

"I'd say you're there. Their stock is dropping like a rock. I'm guessing Clayton Burke's not taking any calls right now," Jackson high-fived her.

"Where's Mitch?"

"Taking a call in the other room. Listen, they want us all in for a news conference. We have to be there at three thirty."

"Hmm. I've never been on this side of a press conference before."

A few minutes later Mitch reappeared. The sudden downswing in his mood was instantly apparent to everyone, but especially to Jamie. She pulled him aside.

"Everything ok?"

"Sure," he muttered, clearly lying. He tried to end the conversation there, but she wouldn't have it.

"Mitch—"

He lifted his palm toward the crowded living room. "This isn't a good time."

"Ok, well just so you know they want us to come in pretty soon for a press conference this afternoon."

"Of course they do," he grumbled. Noting her expression, he softened a bit. "Look, it's nothing we need to worry about right this minute. Just give me a few minutes to get my head back into the game, and I'll be fine for the cameras."

As if on cue, Jackson spoke up. "Hey, we're gonna head home to get ready. See you guys at three thirty?"

"Yeah," Jamie replied, "the Marler building, right?"

Jackson nodded, then he, Chloe and Abe departed.

"Ok, they're all gone now."

Mitch thought it over. "You know what? You've waited a long time for this. This is a really big day for you—for all of us, really. I'm not going to let it get derailed by someone else's issues. Let's just do the press conference and everything else can wait."

"Whose issues?"

"Audra's. Aren't you glad you asked?" He gave a sarcastic smirk. "Trust me, it can wait until tomorrow."

"But everyone's ok?" She asked anxiously.

"Oh, yeah."


	13. Chapter 13

"Here's how this is going to work," Amelia began, "it's going to be an open Q&A forum. You all can answer anything you like but if the answer involves Reiden Global, defer it to Jamie. You may not explicitly discuss the immunity deals or the non-disclosure agreements. Everyone clear? Good. Remember, some of these reporters are going to be on the attack, possibly an attempt by Reiden to discredit you. If you stand your ground, the public will respect you for it. You have the evidence on your side. You've all waited a long time to be recognized for your accomplishments. Now is your chance to get it all out there. If you play your cards right, public pressure should lead to the government dropping the restrictions on you."

She walked them into the press room and showed them the table being prepared.

"Assigned seating," Mitch noted. "How very third grade of them."

Amelia didn't miss a beat. "You can sit wherever you like. Just move the name cards."

They returned to the green room for the last minute preparations. Jamie couldn't sit still.

"Why are you so nervous?" Mitch asked. "You look great, you know your material, you're going to be fine. You got this."

He tried to keep his argument with Audra out of his mind, but it kept pushing its way back to the forefront. How dare she judge Jamie when she'd never met her? If she wanted to judge him, that was fine; she had ample evidence from which to draw her conclusions. But she'd damn well better leave Jamie out of it.

He was snapped from his thoughts by Chloe propping her laptop on the desk.

"To make sure you are all in the right frame of mind, I smuggled this video. Here's what was about to happen if we didn't find the cure. For your viewing pleasure, 'Project Noah', courtesy of Reiden Global."

While they had all heard about the plan, no one but Chloe had actually seen the commercial. They all stood dumbfounded as it played.

"Well, that was…nauseating," Mitch declared. "Like a bad Saturday Night Live skit."

"Come on," Abe said. "At Reiden Global their most precious resource is you."

"I don't even know where to start with that," Jamie stammered. "So much wrong, on so many _levels."_

"Kill all you want," Mitch snarked. "We'll make more."

"Just makes you all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?" Jackson agreed.

On their cue, they filed back to the press room and sat at the semi-circular table behind their respective name cards. _Abraham Kenyatta, Jamie Campbell Morgan, Dr. Mitchell Morgan, Jackson Oz, and Chloe Tousignant._

Brief introductions and an opening statement were made, then the forum was opened to questions.

One by one, the reporters stood: "Dr Morgan, it's said that you used a coffee pot to isolate an unusual bacteria in wolves that attacked the prison in Alabama. Can you elaborate?"

"The coffee pot thing ended up giving us no useful information," Mitch answered. "We don't believe it affected the behavior of the wolves at all, it was the identification of the bacteria that yielded results. But if anyone's kid needs a really cool science fair idea, feel free to shoot me an email. Though I'll add the caveat that it did cost us a pretty hefty tip for the hotel maid."

"Yeah, um, when can we get reimbursed for that?" Jackson joked.

Reporter: "So what was the significance of the identification of the bacteria?"

"I believe Jamie may be better able to answer that," said Chloe.

"The bacteria led us to its creator, a man named Leo Butler. As you've seen, Mr. Butler kept meticulous records. Without that bacteria, we don't find Leo. Without Leo, we don't find the mother cell that he'd appropriated from Reiden global. Without the mother cell, we don't have a cure," Jamie told them.

Reporter: "Mr. Oz, you were the only witness to the murder of Special Agent Shaffer, is that true?"

"Yes and no," Jackson said. "Yes, I was there and saw the whole thing. No, it most definitely was not murder."

Reporter: "So, what exactly was it?"

"Self-defense. Agent Shaffer was attempting to steal the mother cell. He had already assaulted Jamie and left her tied up. I confronted him in the stairwell, and he got the best of me. He dropped his gun on the stairs in the struggle. I was down and he kept hitting, until Jamie got free and got there and yelled for him to get off me. He started to move toward her, she was cornered and she shot him. She saved both of our lives, and who knows how many more she saved by keeping the mother cell from falling into the wrong hands."

Reporter: "Who would that be? Who was he working for?"

Jackson winked. "No comment."

Reporter:"Ms. Tousignant, can you respond to rumors that your team was actually assembled by none other than Reiden Global?"

"I will not," Chloe replied, "but Jamie will."

"We were hired by men that we later learned were, indeed, on Reiden's payroll. We can only speculate on why exactly they did that."

Reporter: "Are any of you concerned at all that the virus could spread to humans?"

"I think Mitch would like this one," Chloe answered tersely.

"It's not a virus. It's a cellular mutation." Mitch informed the room, irritation obvious in his voice. "Thus far, we've only seen one human affected, and we—"

The reporter interrupted confrontationally: "You say it's not a virus, then you use the word 'infected'."

Mitch gave his best 'I'm going to eat you alive' glare. "No. I said _affected_ , not _infected_. Entirely different words with entirely different meanings. May I finish? We've only seen one human affected, and we suspect that it didn't occur naturally. We don't know how or why that was done to him. As far as the question of whether humans could receive it from saliva in animal bites, or even from scratches, I suppose it's theoretically possible, but we've seen absolutely no evidence of that."

"Also," Abe chimed in, "the cure will find its way into the water supply, so humans will get it too. All of the bases should be covered."

Reporter: "My question is for Dr. Morgan. One of the rumors circulating that is not in the article insinuates that you actually betrayed your colleagues at one point and cut a deal with Reiden Global to return the mother cell to them. Can you clear that up for the record?"

Mitch leaned forward in his seat. Damned non-disclosure. He very much wanted to speak to this issue. " I would really like to answer that question…but I won't."

Reporter: "Gag order?"

"No comment," Mitch said dryly. "However, if Jamie would like to address it, I'm fine with that."

Off Mitch's glance, Jamie spoke up. "Mitch has a child who was very ill at the time, and learned that Reiden was doing very successful trials on a medication which could help her. I did initially feel betrayed, um, but the reality is that if I were in his shoes, I'd do whatever I had to do to help someone I loved, so…it's all water under the bridge now. And as it turned out he got the medication, didn't have to give up the mother cell and went on to create the cure." She thought better of exposing Delavenne's duplicity; after all, he had come through when they needed him.

Jackson adjusted his microphone. "Yeah, uh, we were all pretty angry when it all went down, but the bottom line is no harm done, and, frankly, I have to have a measure of respect for someone who would lay it all on the line like that for family. So it's all good." He smiled, and playfully put his arm around Mitch's shoulders. "I'd trust this guy to the ends of the earth."

"He's more than earned our trust and respect and deserves yours as well," Chloe added.

Reporter: "If I'm reading this correctly, you guys had the cure four months ago. Is that true? And then it was lost in a plane crash?"

"Yes. We were—we were devastated," Jackson replied. "We lost Jamie, and we lost the leopard that we needed for the cure. Thank God, both were eventually found. But, yeah, the cure was delayed by four months, so, essentially, a horrific number of people were killed by that plane crash."

Reporter: "But, Ms. Campbell, you had the leopard all along, right?"

"I spent three months totally incapacitated. I reached out as soon as I possibly could. Believe me, nobody wanted me found more than I did," Jamie responded.

Reporter: "Could you run us through your thought process when you did reach out? Because logic would have dictated that you call Ms. Tousignant."

"It took about ten minutes once I had the sat phone in my hand to start dialing. Yeah, I knew Chloe wasn't on the plane, so I had every reason to think that she was ok, and I didn't have any idea what happened to the others, or if they were even alive. So, yeah, she would've been the logical choice. But honestly there was never even a question in my mind of who I was going to call. I called the person I most needed to connect with. And when he answered the phone, in that instant, I knew he was ok. And everything was going to be ok."

Reporter: " , you have a reputation throughout the pathology and teaching communities as being 'prickly' and 'difficult' to work with."

Jackson laughed, prompting laughter from the others. "You don't say."

Mitch fought back his laughter, then continued true to form. "Um, no comment? I've said it before, I'll say it again: I'm an acquired taste. I don't generally make a very good first impression. Or even a mediocre first impression. This isn't news to me. I know Chloe wanted me dead those first days in Rio, and I'm pretty sure Jackson did initially, too. But here we are." He made a show of returning Jackson's earlier gesture, leaning over and playfully putting his arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"The man was impossible!" Chloe agreed. "Maybe I can get by the censors if I use French to say what I thought of him?" She began laughing again, "He can be condescending, rude, arrogant and moody. But then I got to know him, who he is on the inside and I'm very happy that I took the time to look past the surface."

Jackson took over. "We totally got off on the wrong foot, but it doesn't take long to realize what a great guy he is to have on your side. You know I'm the gung-ho 'hey, let's do this!' never say quit type and he's the cautious, cynical 'slow down, there, let's think this through' type. I'm more diplomatic, and he's not afraid to call like it is, even if it's blunt or not what the other person wants to hear. So we've clashed a bit. But we've always worked it out. He brings an incredible amount of intelligence, humor, common sense, compassion, loyalty and yes, even emotion to the table. He will deny the mushy stuff, but trust us, it's there."

Jamie pointed to Mitch in mock dismay, "Guys, stop feeding into the smug! I have to live with this!"

Mitch took her hand in his and kissed it whimsically, "You know you love it." He then reached across her and put his hand on Abe's forearm. "You too, big guy. We'll always have that night by the campfire."

Abe laughed, shaking his head, "Never change, professor. Never change."

Reporter: "Some would say that this panel seems awfully cavalier considering the seriousness of the subject matter. Is that a fair assessment?"

Abe raised his hands in the universal 'stop' sign. "You misunderstand. My colleagues and I are well aware of the gravity of these events. We have traveled all over the world, risked our lives, made many sacrifices. We, too, have lost friends and loved ones. We have seen and experienced things that we will never be able to un-see. And yet we were able to accomplish what we set out to do. Our laughter, though some may find it inappropriate, is what preserves our sanity. It makes bearable the horrors we have experienced. Our teasing is as brothers and sisters; we have bonded together and take comfort in knowing that the others will always have our backs."

Reporter: "Ms. Campbell, Anissa Coleman was interviewed from prison this afternoon. She maintains that the break-in at the Clearwater Zoo, which ended with two people being shot, only ended violently because you made an error with the security camera feeds. Can you respond to that?"

Jamie nodded, "I do feel a little responsible for that, because I did make a mistake that snowballed out of control—"

Mitch cut in angrily, "Things went south because Anissa and her merry band of nutjobs didn't follow the plan. If they had gone with the plan that we laid out, none of that would have ever happened. They can't put that all on Jamie."

"F.A.R.M. s initial plan of action was to go in with a blitz attack," Abraham elaborated. "They were going to use violence and flash bangs. We showed them a nonviolent alternative, and they agreed to it. We had no idea they were armed until the gunfight began. How can they blame this on inadequate backup when they originally were content to have no backup at all?"

Reporter: "So you guys deny any part in the violence that ensued?"

"Absolutely," Mitch averred. "Four of the five of us went into that zoo. None of us was armed. Also note that Chloe was arrested while trying to stop your friend Anissa from shooting at officers. You know, preventing more blood from being spilled."

Chloe spoke, "Our reason for agreeing to break into the zoo was two-fold: we needed a plane to get to Zambia, which Ray would give us in exchange for helping him and his friends, and we needed an electroporator, which the zoo was likely to have. We obtained both. No one was ever supposed to get hurt."

Reporter: "Mr. Oz, what are your feelings now regarding your father's research? It was touched on in the article, but I'd like your perspective."

Jackson cleared his throat. "To be honest, I need a lot more time to fully understand his work. When he was alive, I didn't take it seriously—no one did—and now that I know that he was right, I really regret that I can't ask him about the parts that I don't yet understand. He described, in detail, these aberrations with the animals many years before any of us ever observed them. He knew the animal apocalypse was coming. But he didn't know why, or how to stop it. And no one believed him." His eyes misted up. "I'm very grateful to Jamie for treating him so kindly in the article."

"The fact of the matter is that nobody took him seriously, myself included. I spoke very poorly of Dr. Oz when I first met Jackson, and for that I am truly sorry. He was written off as some kind of lunatic when, as it turns out, he was absolutely correct, right down to the ocular and brain changes in the affected animals," Mitch added. "Everything that he predicted would happen has happened."

Reporter: "One quick question. You guys needed a second mother cell to test your cure again because the first one was lost in Harare. Where did you get it?"

"Um…no comment," Jamie laughed.

Reporter: "So, Ms. Campbell, you were presumed dead from September 1 until three days ago. Even though you were reunited with your friends three weeks ago".

"it was not believed that I could be safe at that point. You have to remember, up until the plane crash, Reiden had hits out on all of us. The others became safe afterward because Reiden knew that they couldn't tell anyone the truth. I wasn't around, so I never signed anything, and Reiden would never have believed I would honor it, anyway. So until I could get my story told, it was too dangerous for me to come forward."

Reporter: "Too dangerous for you? Or for someone else?"

Jamie continued. "For everyone I care about. As an example, when we were in Zambia, they tortured Chloe's sister in an attempt to get Chloe to reveal our location so they could kill us. Take a note: if anything mysteriously happens to me, suspect Reiden Global first."

Reporter: "Mr. Kenyatta, what are your plans now? Will you be returning to Botswana?"

"At this point, I don't know. I'll take it as it comes."

Reporter: "And Ms. Tousignant, as the other non U.S. Citizen, how about you? Is it back to Paris?"

Chloe leaned into the mic, "That's something Jackson and I will have to decide."

Reporter: "So you're planning together…"

"Yes, " Jackson replied. "I'll go wherever Chloe goes. As soon as it's safe to do so, I need to go back to Botswana to check on my mom, but after that, I'm open for anything."

Reporter: "What about you, Dr. Morgan?"

Mitch didn't hesitate, "We can't wait to get back to L.A."

Reporter: "We?"

"Yes," Jamie pointed lifted up the name card in front of her and set it back down. "And we were both living in L.A. when we met, so, yeah, we're headed back."

Reporter: "You used to work for the Telegraph there, right? But you were fired."

"Yes."

Reporter: "And why is that?"

"Because I knew I was right about Reiden Global, who, as it happens, owns the company that owns the Telegraph, and I refused to shut up about it," Jamie answered with conviction.

Reporter: "Any regrets?"

"None at all."


	14. Chapter 14

"What?! What's her issue with me?" Jamie was dumbfounded.

"Apparently you're a psychotic killer, completely unhinged," Mitch informed her, only a little facetiously. "Definitely a threat to society and young children." He couldn't put Jamie off any longer. She wanted to know what the telephone call had been about, and frankly, she had a right to know.

"You've gotta be kidding."

"A little. But, uh, not as much as you'd hope. Seriously, she was freaked out about the Shaffer thing. In a nutshell, they saw us on the news. I was wanted as an accomplice to a murder. She didn't really appreciate having to explain that to a ten year old. Clearly something's horribly wrong with my judgement if I'd let myself get sucked into something like that, and well, you can see where this is all headed."

Jamie slammed the coffee mug onto the table. "Seriously? Why now? That was months ago. Those charges have been dropped."

"In her mind, charges or no charges you still killed a federal agent. The lack of charges doesn't mean it was justified, it just means it was part of the deal we cut. When she thought you had died in the plane crash, she was willing to let it go," he explained. "she just figured that you were an acquaintance, and I didn't know how you were until I was already in over my head. Then she saw us on the news again yesterday and now knows that A: you are alive, B: we are involved as more than just colleagues and C: I knew damn well what I was getting into."

"Oh, she must have loved the 'married' part."

"Yeah, that went over like the Hindenburg," he sipped his coffee. "Now she knows that at some point, you're going to be in Clem's orbit."

"And she does not like that."

"She does not," Mitch confirmed. "But here's the thing: she doesn't have a choice. I don't want to fight her, but I will if she forces my hand. I just finally reconnected with my daughter. I'm not gonna disappear again now matter how much Audra wants me to."

"Ok, so I just won't be around when you visit."

"Not good enough. Remember, my judgement is so crappy that I'm not to be trusted now, either."

"Oh my God, Mitch, I'm so sorry," Jamie felt ten thousand pounds descend upon her. "I don't want to be the reason you don't get to see your daughter."

"You won't be," he told her. "I'm not blaming you, you haven't done anything wrong . I'm just letting you know what's going on. She's freaked out right now. She's a good mom. And you're a good person, not a threat to anybody. The whole thing is just ludicrous. With a little time, she'll see she's wrong."

"I hope you're right."

 _Me too,_ he thought better of saying aloud. He needed to work this out with Audra. Hoping perhaps she had softened after seeing the press conference, he decided to call her back as Jamie worked on her laptop in the other room.

"Did you watch the press conference?" He asked her.

"Yes, I did. And I read the article."

"And?"

"You guys have done something amazing here, and I'm really grateful. But it doesn't really change anything," she replied. "I mean, I know that agent was dirty and all, but…I don't know, Mitch."

Mitch heard something in her voice that led him to believe her actual issue was something other than Jamie. "Jamie's not the problem, is she? She's a convenient excuse."

"Maybe. I don't know. She seemed rational enough."

"I'm not going away again, Audra."

"You're going back to California, right?"

"Yes, California. Not the _moon_ ," he half-shouted in his frustration, a lapse he instantly regretted.

"It's better for everyone if you just back off," she told him coldly.

"Why are you so upset by this?"

"I'm not upset."

"Yes, you are. And I'm really trying to understand. But this interpersonal stuff isn't my strong suit, so I could really use some context here."

"What do you want from me, Mitch? You want me to stand back and let you and your girlfriend play house with my daughter after you've been absent for almost a decade? What do I tell her when the going gets tough and you bail out again?"

Ah, there it was, he realized. The heart of the matter.

"Look, I get what you're saying, and you're not wrong—my track record is pretty sketchy. But how long should I pay for those mistakes? I'm not the same person I was then, Audra, and if you can't see that, well…I don't what more to say to reassure you."

Hearing nothing but dead air, he continued "we're not asking for custody here. We don't want to do anything to disrupt Clem's life. She's an awesome kid and you and Justin deserve all the credit there. Whatever you're doing is perfect. I don't want to screw that up. I just want some time now and again. I want to know my daughter, and I want her to know me. Maybe an occasional weekend, or some time when school's out."

"Maybe," she conceded. "I'll think about it."

Three weeks later, the animal threat was clearly, obviously retreating. Just as quickly as things had gone off the rails, the situation was improving. Life was beginning again; businesses and schools were reopening.

The team was heavily in demand, making a number of talk show appearances and interviews all up and down the eastern seaboard. West coast news outlets were stymied by the ongoing issues with air travel, however more carriers were resuming services each day. Investigations were underway by several nations to evaluate Reiden's continued wrongdoings. There was a high level of suspicion that Anik had either been paid or intimidated to keep Jamie and the leopard hidden away, though getting any information out of him had been a very slow, difficult process. If it were true, then Reiden could be held responsible for the deaths that occurred in the nearly four month delay of the cure. Jamie, Mitch and Chloe had all testified before congressional hearings and Abraham and Jackson were scheduled the following week.

The Morgans were preparing to return to California. So far, though, they had been asked to stay in Washington until the hearings and investigations were completed. This particular afternoon, Mitch had been called to a meeting on Capital Hill, so Jamie was home alone when the doorbell rang. She didn't recognize the man she saw through the peephole.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she cracked the door open. As her view widened she saw that the man had a young girl with him.

"Hi," the man began with a slightly tentative edge to his voice. "I'm Justin. You're Jamie, right?"

Trying to hide the fact that she was completely caught off guard, she quickly opened the door the rest of the way and ushered the pair inside. She shook the man's hand. "Yes. It's, uh, it's nice to meet you." She turned to the little girl, who also appeared very uncertain about the whole thing.

"You must be Clementine. I recognize you from your pictures."

"You were at my house, right?"

"Yeah," Jamie answered, surprised. "In Boston. Briefly. But I didn't see you. You and your mom were upstairs the whole time I was there."

"I saw you."

Jamie wasn't sure what to do with that. Was it good or bad? "I'm sorry," she told them, "Mitch isn't home right now."

"I'm sorry to drop by without warning," Justin said. " I tried to call him, but he didn't answer."

"He has the phone off. He's in a hearing at the Capitol."

"Oh. Um…can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Justin asked.

"Sure." Jamie found herself more apprehensive with each passing second. "We can go in the kitchen. Can I get you guys anything?"

"No, thanks, we're ok," he followed her. "Clem, watch tv for a minute. Looks like a cooking show."

Once they were out of earshot Jamie looked at Justin. "What's up?"

"I need a favor. You have no idea how much I hate to ask this, but, uh, Audra's really sick. We were heading down to Hilton Head for a family thing, and I had to take her to the hospital. They think it's some kind of food poisoning."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jamie said. Her mind was racing. Where was he going with this?

"She's really out of it right now. They think she's going to be all right, but right now it's pretty bad. I need to be at the hospital with her. They won't let minors stay the night in the ICU waiting area, and it's not a good place for a kid anyway, so I was wondering if Clem could stay here for tonight. I mean, Mitch said something to Audra about occasional weekends so I thought—"

Jamie interrupted him. "Of course. It's fine." This was Mitch's—and her—chance to prove that they could do this and she wasn't about to blow it for him.

"Are you sure? Mitch isn't even here to ask—"

"He'll be fine with it. It's fine," she repeated. "Give Audra our best. I hope she's feeling better really soon."

"How much kid experience do you have?" He asked dubiously.

"None. Is that enough?" Jamie's sheepish grin was contagious as Justin smiled, too. "Seriously, though, we'll figure it out. Don't worry."

"Ok, ok. Um, here's my cell," he said as he handed her a card. "If, well, anything, just call. Clem has it, too."

Jamie peeked around the corner at the girl, who still looked pretty uncomfortable. "Does she, uh, know what the plan is?"

"Yes. She does."

"And she's not too happy."

"No, she's not. I'll have a talk with her."

"No, it's ok. I get it. I know where she's coming from. We'll be all right."

"I can't thank you enough," Justin told her sincerely.

"Don't worry. Go take care of your wife. I got this."

Justin went to the car and retrieved Clementine's bag. They said their goodbyes. Then, Jamie was alone with the child.


	15. Chapter 15

Jamie sat next to Clementine on the sofa. She decided that the best approach to the tension in the air was to tackle it head on with patience and understanding.

"So, I'm a stranger to you," she started gently. "Mitch is only slightly more familiar. You're feeling dumped. And you're worried about your mom. Does that about cover it?"

"Almost. I also miss Henry."

"Your dog, right? Is he still in quarantine?"

"They've had him for months! We went to get him out yesterday and they said no, they still haven't been cleared to release the quarantined pets."

"That sucks," Jamie agreed. "I'm sorry. Hopefully it won't be much longer."

"I hope not."

"So…you like the cooking shows?"

"Yeah," Clem replied, "especially the competition ones. Top Chef, Cutthroat Kitchen, Iron Chef…"

"Check the TiVo. There should be a few Cutthroat Kitchens on there."

"Oh, it's the Superstar Sabotage tournament!"

Jamie felt relief wash over her. They had found common ground. Maybe this was going to be all right.

"You sure you don't want anything?" She asked the girl. "While you're here, our house is your house."

"No, thanks," Clem said.

They watched the show together for a while and discovered it was a good icebreaker.

"Do you cook?" Clementine asked her as she fast-forwarded past the commercial break.

"Not really," Jamie answered. "I don't mind it, I'm just not very good at it."

"I am. Justin lets me cook, but my mom won't. Not very much anyway. She's afraid I'm going to burn down the house or something." She rolled her eyes.

Jamie smiled kindly. "Don't be too hard on your mom. It's a real concern. But as long as we follow a few basic safety rules, it's pretty unlikely. You're ten, right?"

"Eleven. My birthday was last month."

"That's right," Jamie blushed. _Fail_. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I found an awesome spaghetti carbonara recipe yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to try it."

"So let's do it," Jamie offered. "I'll be your sous chef."

"Really?"

"Why not? Gonna need to see if we have all the ingredients we need, though."

Clementine reached into her bag and produced her iPad. She checked the settings. "Your wi-fi is locked."

"Oh, " Jamie said with a grin, "the password is 'leopard.' Because I saw him through the window when I was setting the password."

"Do you still have him?" Clem asked hopefully.

"No, the government needed him to take him to make the cure," Jamie told her. "Sorry. You still like animals? Even after everything?"

"I have nightmares about the birds sometimes," Clementine admitted, "but if they're gonna be nice again, I'll still like animals. I'd love to pet a leopard."

"I have nightmares too sometimes. But it's only going to get better from here. I promise," Jamie said. "And I'm sure when Mitch is back working with zoos, he'll hook you up with that leopard petting thing."

"That would be so cool. Here's the recipe." She handed the iPad to Jamie.

Jamie skimmed over the list of ingredients. "I think you're in luck. Pretty sure we have all of this."

"Even the secret ingredient?"

"Allez cuisine!"

Jamie was elated as they began to prepare dinner. This could not have been going better. She was both amused and amazed to see so much of Mitch in the girl, especially considering that he hadn't been around to have much influence on her. Hmm, she thought, nature vs nurture right? Clementine was witty, intelligent and insightful, and unafraid to just say what was on her mind.

"So who's your favorite Iron Chef?" Clem asked her.

"Old school or new school?"

"Both."

"New school, Alex. Old school…Michael Symon."

"He's always funny," Clem added.

"He is."

"Can I ask you something?" Clementine asked. Jamie could sense a turn in the tone of the conversation.

"Ok."

"When you were in Boston, were you dating Mitch?"

"No. At that point we were just good friends. We had way too much going on trying to figure out how to fix the animal problem to really think about it."

"Ok. I was just wondering, 'cause I asked him then if he was married and he said no. He didn't even say he had a girlfriend."

"He didn't," Jamie confirmed.

"Did you guys really make the cure for the animals?"

"We did. All of us contributed in different ways, but the actual cure, that was Mitch's idea. We did it in an abandoned hospital in Africa that was overrun with leopards and crocodiles. How's that pasta coming?"

Clem stirred the pot. "It's almost done."

"Look, this probably isn't my place, but you should know that your dad knows he's made a lot of mistakes in the past, but he loves you. Never doubt that, ok? He's trying really hard to do the right things now."

Clem nodded and bit her lower lip. "Are you guys gonna have any kids?"

"I don't know," Jamie answered. "I don't think so, but never say never, right? Let's just say we have no immediate plans to do so."

"You should. You seem like you'd be a good mom."

"Thank you." Jamie was flattered. "That's very sweet."

"I think your phone is ringing."

"Oh, geez, I didn't even hear it. Be right back."

She went to the living room and picked up her phone. _Mitch_.

"Hey," she answered.

"Hey. I'm on my way. I just talked to Justin and he told me what's going on. I'm so sorry. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"No, it's fine. We're fine. Take your time." She was actually getting a little frustrated. Why did everyone seem to think she couldn't handle it?

"All right, I'll pick up some dinner at—"

"No, no, don't you dare! Dinner's almost ready." That would be just what they needed—to have Mitch show up with takeout when the girl was so proud of what she'd cooked.

"You're cooking? This should be interesting…"

"Just drive, pal. See you when you get here."

Mitch arrived home a short time later. He didn't know what he was expecting when he opened the door, but certainly not _this_. Jamie and Clem were in the kitchen putting the final touches on what smelled like a heavenly meal. They were chatting as if they'd known each other for years.

"Hi," he greeted them, unable to keep the tone of amusement out of his voice.

"Hi," said Clementine.

"Hey," Jamie gave him a quick peck. "How did it go at the Capitol?"

"It was…unexpected. I'll fill you in later. Something smells good."

"Spaghetti carbonara. It's ready," Clem announced.

Dinner went smoothly, and Jamie's spirits were high. Maybe, just maybe, she could pull this off. A slight wrinkle came up after dinner when Clementine suggested they play a board game; the adults were forced to realize that they actually had no board games, but a deck of cards was soon located and a game of Crazy Eights solved the problem.

Mitch made up the guest room for Clem. Before putting her to bed, he allowed her to use his phone to call Justin to check on her mom. Pleased to hear that Audra was doing somewhat better, Clementine nodded off quickly.

With the child safely asleep, Jamie popped open a wine cooler and relaxed on the sofa.

"So what happened in your hearing today?" She asked as Mitch returned.

"Well," he sighed, sitting next to her, "the hearing was more of the same. It was Amelia's office afterward that floored me. It seems your buddy Anik was on Reiden's payroll after all."

"Seriously? They can prove that?"

"Yes. You gotta admit, it does explain some things." He knew she had a soft spot for the old man, but he'd always creeped Mitch out. "Why did he never notify the authorities? Or get medical help for you? And who the hell keeps a live leopard on their property in the midst of the animal apocalypse, anyway?"

"But then why did he let me make that call?"

"I don't know. Maybe…maybe you won him over. You have that effect on people."

"Oh my God! That means that all those months, while people were dying, Reiden was intentionally withholding the cure!"

Mitch nodded. "And so was Anik. I suppose it's possible, though, that they just told him to keep the leopard healthy and never told him the significance of it. In any case, your extended stay in the Great White North is now being viewed as an abduction. You'll be hearing from the special prosecutor tomorrow. Clear your agenda, I think you'll be there a while giving your statement."

"Wow. But wait, this is Canada's case, right?"

"That's what they're debating," Mitch replied. "Everyone wants a piece of this. They're planning to arrest Anik, but more as a pawn than anything else. They just want him to give up Burke. Then they can arrest and extradite that bastard and his minions. She mentioned the possibility of an international tribunal since the homicides that occurred in those three plus months were all over the world."

Jamie was overwhelmed. She had so many thoughts and feelings about this news that she scarcely knew where to begin to process it all. Didn't Reiden's deal with the government limit the prosecutorial possibilities? If there were a trial, would she be testifying? What about that tribunal? Was she finally going to see Reiden Global held accountable for something?


End file.
